Tek Net [Hardcover]

William Shatner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 1997

Captain Kirk is back with another fast-paced Tek adventure featuring detective Jake Cardigan. When the second wife of Cardigan's partner Sid Gomez disappears, a highly placed government source offers top dollar to find her alive.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This ninth Tek novel continues the adventures of private detectives Jake Cardigan and his partner, Sid Gomez, as they search for Sid's missing ex-wife. Although set in the year 2122, this thinly disguised detective story has very little sf. The trite dialog and cookie-cutter characters offer nothing new to enliven this pedestrian series. Buy only on demand.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The ninth Tek novel does not boldly--or in any other way--go where no novel has gone before. It is, however, a workmanlike piece of action sf, very much in the mode of its predecessors. It opens with one of the ex-wives of Sid Gomez, partner of series star Jake Cardigan, being kidnapped for stumbling upon the secrets of a new form of Tek that can be transmitted over computer networks and will wipe out the market for Tek chips. Threatened Tek lords are trying to prevent that from happening and classify Gomez, Cardigan, and a whole bunch of their friends and associates as candidates for elimination. This one has a slightly higher-than-usual body count for a Tek opus and a dark though not grim tone; focuses more on Sid, his ex, her friends, and his associates than on Jake Cardigan; and features a splendidly slimy cast of villains, making its setting seem rather like Batman's Gotham City gone into orbit. One customarily gets neither more nor less than straightforward entertainment from a Tek series entry; this book provides more of the same, and that is surely no shame. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399143394
• ISBN-13: 978-0399143397
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,388,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice story to read at bedtime as it winds your mind down rather than up, January 25, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tek Net (Hardcover)

Once again private detectives Jake Cardigan and his wisecracking sidekick Sid Gomez are battling the forces of evil, peddlers of the brain altering electronic drug called tek. It all begins when Jill Bernardino, one of Gomez's ex-wives calls him up and requests his aid. She has been indiscreet in her gathering and repeating of information regarding a new way of delivering tek that has been called Teknet. Instead of needing a brainbox and a chip to deliver the fantasies to the brain, it will now be possible to send them directly from a computer.
Their potential loss of revenue from the manufacture of chips has caused the tek lords to move against the developers of teknet. They send operatives to capture Jill but the operatives of the teknet consortium grab her first. When Jake joins forces with Gomez, they go face first into a case that has them battling with cops and two powerful factions of tek lords. As is always the case in this formulaic series, the bad guys never shoot straight when aiming at Jake or Sid, yet are deadly when shooting at others. While Jake and Sid do occasionally miss, it is never a serious matter because the opposition couldn't hit a parked truck.
The story is simple, the action basic and often predictable yet it is a fun story to read, especially when you are tucking your mind to bed. Little thought is required to follow the plot as it winds your mind down rather than up.

4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun for the SciFi fan, March 5, 2001

By 

"sarahmorgen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tek Net (Paperback)

The tek books actually surprised me - they're very entertaining. I expected a hack job, but they move very quickly and have non-stop action. No paragraph is longer than 3 sentences, so they're great to read after a long day to unwind before bed. Pure, futuristic fantasy that manages to keep you interested and moving right along. These books are sprinkled with Tek-isms and future slang that can make you chuckle to yourself. Shatner obviously had a lot of fun writing this series. I, for one, was pleasantly impressed with our beloved Captain Kirk.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The song remains the same..., May 18, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tek Net (Paperback)

When I read the original "Tekwar" a seemingly impossibly long time ago, I was instantly drawn in to the high tech world that my boyhood hero had created. The hardware was sleek, the action was merciless, and the end of each page dared you not to turn to the next. Almost ten years later, not much has changed for Jake Cardigan and company. Jake's still the tough, angst ridden private eye with a heart of gold. Gomez is still a wise cracking charmer, and both manage to get themselves in ridiculous amounts of trouble in the course of the story, only to tap dance their way out of it by the end, which almost always falls around 250 pages. Like the rest, Teknet's story is told with rare style and wit, but the Tek "cast" doesn't ever really change. But, with a "Tek" book, you're not looking for a character study, just a fast paced thrill ride. Teknet delivers on that.The main problem is that this, being the last of a series of books that has soaked up an entire decade, gives no real sense of closure to the series. At the end, things are pretty much the way they started, and the boys still seem poised to take Bascm's next call. A more proper send off would have been more satisfying.