Star Trek : The Rift :57 [Paperback]

Peter David (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1991

Every thirty-three years, a rift in space connects the Federation with a mysterious race called the Calligar who live on a planet hundreds of light years away -- much too far to travel in a Starship. Captain Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise™ are dispatched to transport a Federation delegation of diplomats, scholars and scientists who will travel to Calligar directly during the brief period of time that the rift will be open.

Mr. Spock leads the Federation party as they travel by shuttle through the rift just as a group of the aliens arrive in Federation space. The meetings go smoothly until the Calligar take Spock's party hostage and Kirk discovers that the aliens are keeping a deadly secret. With angry Tellarite and Andorain fleets ready to attack the Calligar, Kirk must save Spock and the others before war breaks out and the rift closes for another fifty years.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Every 33 years, a rift in space connects the Federation with a mysterious race called the Calligar who live on a planet hundreds of light years away, much too far to travel in a Starship. Captain Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise^TM are dispatched to transport a Federation delegation of diplomats, scholars and scientists who will travel to Calligar directly during the brief period of time that the rift will be open.

Mr. Spock leads the Federation party as they travel by shuttle through the rift just as a group of the aliens arrive in Federation space. The meetings go smoothly until the Calligar take Spock's party hostage and Kirk discovers that the aliens are keeping a deadly secret. With angry Tellarite and Andorain fleets ready to attack the Calligar, Kirk must save Spock and the others before war breaks out and the rift closes for another 50 years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek; 1st edition (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671747967
• ISBN-13: 978-0671747961
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter David is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous Star Trek novels, including the incredibly popular New Frontier series. In addition, he has also written dozens of other books, including his acclaimed original novel, Sir Apropos of Nothing, and its sequel, The Woad to Wuin. David is also well known for his comic book work, particularly his award-winning run on The Incredible Hulk. He recently authored the novelizations of both the Spider-Man and Hulk motion pictures.He lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining but not overly deep novel., January 8, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Star Trek : The Rift :57 (Paperback)

As is usually the case with Peter David, the writing style is excellent; as usual, he manages to tell an exciting action-based story without losing his sense of humor, which is rare. As an added bonus, this story has its beginning in the time of Captain Pike, just after the events in "The Menagerie"; after a chapter or two, we move forward to a standard original-series story, set at some point after the fourth movie. ("The Voyage Home")

But while the story is exciting, a good read, with action, pacing, and characterization that is all one could ask for, it is, ultimately, a lightweight novel. Which is not necessarily a bad thing; that's going to be true of most stories in any protracted series. They can't ALL be world-beaters; this one is a good light-reading episode with just a hint of the deeper thought-provoking concepts that make some Star Trek stories great. Not enough to be great itself, but just enough to be very good.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good.. but not great, May 28, 2009

By 

Tiberius "Tiberius" (Alpha Santeria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek : The Rift :57 (Paperback)

Peter David is certainly one of my favorite Star Trek authors. I love his storytelling and the way he captures the characters thru the pages and they always seem to be familar to you. He has hit several Homeruns... Q-squared and Q-in-Law were both hit out of the park. However, The Rift was just a solid single. If you are not a baseball fan I will put it another way. While Q-Squared and Q-in-Law were incredible 5 star books this book was just good which explains the 3 stars.

The positives of the book all center around the story. It is a lot of fun and you won't be bored for one moment. It isn't a save the universe story but then again they can't all be that. This is simply first contact with a new species running into a small problem and trying to work things out. Nothing wrong with that. The story involves the Enterprise under command of Captain Pike and then later Captain Kirk. Lt. Jose Tyler who you might remember from the original series episode "The Cage" takes a very important role in this book, as he along with Spock make two trips thru the Rift. One in the Captain Pike time period and then again with Kirk and company. These two time periods tie in very well and the story is a lot of fun and will keep your interest.

The Negative aspect of the story are the characters. I never thought I would say that about a Peter David novel. The Alien race which is known as the Calligarians a very interesting and written very well. It is relationship with Kirk, Spock and McCoy that I had a problem with. I think it is safe to say that it is the chemistry between those three characters that was and is the strength of the series. However in this novel the chemistry just isn't quiet right. Sure they have there arguments and disagreements and most of it was a lot of fun but in this book it was more about Kirk and McCoy than Spock and McCoy that had most of the disagreements. Kirk is usually the one that likes to almost sit back and enjoy the other two but not in this novel. I could give other examples but read for yourself and see if you agree. The main issue I had with the book all centered around age. You couldn't go more than a couple of pages without one of our original series heroes mainly Kirk talking about how old they all were. Kirk had an issue with his age in Star Trek II but since this book took place between Star Trek V and Star Trek V1 I am not sure why that was a focal point for the author. I can look past it a couple of times but they must have thirty to fourty times were this was mentioned in the novel, it was just a bit much.

If you are looking for a fun novel this book is for you. The characters were just a little off for my taste, but the story is dead on and a lot of fun.

Grade: B

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Story with Captain Pike Not bad!!!, June 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek : The Rift :57 (Paperback)

It makes a change to have Captain Pike in a startrek novel. You get to know what he is like as a starship captain. The crossover to captain Kirk is smooth and the aliens are not as hostile as most startrek aliens.