Customer Reviews

Yesterday's Son

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is one of my most favorite Star Trek novels of all time! I not only have the novel, I also have the Audio recording on cassette tape. Yesterday's Son by A. C. Crispin. A wonderful story about how Spock discovers he has a son on the planet, Sarpeidon. It is the novel sequel to that classic Star Trek episode, where Spock and McCoy accidently activate a time machine called the Atavicron that takes them into the past. Spock and McCoy meet up with this woman named Zarabeth in the Ice age of the planet Sarpiedon. During that time with Spock, McCoy and Zarabeth together, Spock starts to act like his Vulcan ancestors did many millions of years ago. The Vulcans at that time were driven by emotions with hate, anger, violence,& passion which corupted the society. He is acting the sameway his Vulcan ancestors did because the Atavicron had somehow changed him. Unknown to Spock during that time, Zarebeth bore his child! Kirk and Spock find a way to back into the past using the Guardian Of Forever to rescue his son Zar and accept him as a member of the family on Vulcan. It will not be easy as long as the Romulans are out there, learning the secrets of the Guardian Of Forever and waiting to steal that time machine for there own evil purposes. Kirk,Spock,and McCoy journey into Sarpeidon's past to rescue Spock's son, Zar. Will Zar accept his new life on board the Enterprise? Will Spock and Zar accept each other as family? Will Zar abuse his Vulcan powers for his own needs? Will Zar accept that Vulcan's show no emotion and that Spock is merely showing him traditions of his Vulcan heritage? Will the Romulans steal the Guardian from the Enterprise & the Federation? Will Kirk and crew be able to stop the Romulans?

Find out! Buy this novel! This was the first Novel I ever read as Kid! That is why it means so much to me, If this was your first book, you will read it more that once!

Not being a hard-core Trekker, I don't have fierce loyalties to the accuracy of Trek lore or to certain writers. Perhaps because of this, I was free to enjoy what the book offers instead of lingering on what it DOESN'T offer.

What struck me the most about this book was how well the author captured the voices of the characters. Very genuinely, they speak in the voices of the actors who portrayed them in the television series. You can hear William Shatner, DeForest Kelley and even James Doohan in the written words. It was very immersive and, therefore, very enjoyable.

Without getting overly elaborate about it, the author seamlessly places you in the Enterprise the way the original series did: not by highlighting how cool the goings-on aboard the Enterprise were, but by using the familiar setting merely as a comfortable platform to deliver a story that was more important than the ship.

She accomplishes this, amazingly, while being wisely sparing of word, and the resulting book is slim, is to-the-point, and is rather interesting for people who like Spock and who like seeing other characters - such as Lt. Uhura - play more of an active role in events.

While not as good as "The Wrath of Kahn," this could provide an entertaining afternoon's reading.

A few monthes ago I started reading Star Trek books and I knew that I would never have a chance to read all of them. So I did a little reasearch on the ones that I wanted to read and listed them. One kind of Star Trek book that I wanted to read was the books that were sequels to the Original Series episodes. That is when I first heard of "Yesterdays Son". It was, as you'll know, a sequel to the Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays". I rewatched the episode and couldn't wait to read the novel.

The novel is wonderful, and fast paced. It starts with Spock talking to an archeologist about a drawing in a cave on the planet Sarpiedon a planet which Spock remembers all to well. The drawing is that of a Vulcan but it is not Spock. It is easy for Spock to figure out that he and Zarabeth conceived a child. Spock immediatly ask for leave which was only granted by Captain Kirk if he could help. So Kirk, Spock and McCoy, who also wouldn't take no for an answer are going on a mission to find Spock's son. The problem is the planet Sarpeidon was destroyed so using the library again is out of the question. They must use the Guardian of Forever. However the Enterprise has more trouble on there hands as the Romulans are also interested in the Guardian of Forever and the secrets that it holds.

I really enjoyed this novel!!! A.C. Crispin knows the Star Trek characters and wrote them very well. I saw each character very clearly as I read there dialogue. The magic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy was captured extremely well. I find the relationship between Zar (that is Spock's sons name) and Dr. McCoy was especially good as Spock didn't really want to have much do with Zar at all.

The one short coming was that the book was kind of short. Also it kind of felt like even though written very well that the Romulans were just brought in as a filler. They didn't show up until almost the end. Most great Star Trek stories have many different things going on and they come together at the end. This one we are enjoying just one subject and then a second is added on at the end.

However, this book is a must read for any Star Trek fan especially of the Original Series. The characters and the story are first rate. A.C. Crispin has written many Star Trek books since this one and if they are anything like this one you can bet that I will read them all. I may even read her Star Wars books too.

Grade: A

Ann Crispin is another one of my fave ST writers and this is one of my favorite books, though I do have to say that the sequel is even better. I like how Spock has to figure out how to be a father let alone how to deal with a grown son. Not all of it works, but enough of it works to make this a good book...read this then go read the sequel Time for Yesterday, it's even better

This is an excellent, well-written story with good characterizations, both in terms of creating new characters (notably Spock's son, the title character) and in faithfully portraying the established characters and the interrelations between them. I could easily envision this story as being canonical, as being made into an episode of the original Star Trek series if only it had been written fifteen years earlier.

In it, the author begins in what may be the ideal way to begin a Star Trek novel: she starts with an episode from the series, and builds a "what if" sequal to it; in this case, she builds on the episode, "All Our Yesterdays", in which Spock and McCoy are trapped (temporarily) 5000 years in the past, during the ice age of a planet that is (in the present) about to be destroyed when its sun novas. During that episode, Spock (for reasons never adequately explained, but apparently having something to do with the unplanned nature of their time-travel) reverts to the barbaric, emotional, pre-logical state of Vulcans in that time period. (Why McCoy didn't revert to the superstitious, unscientific state of humans at that point in time is never explained, either.)

In any case, this book assumes what is only hinted at in that episode: that Spock and the woman Zarabeth who was (sort of) native to that time became lovers, physically as well as emotionally, and that unknown to Spock, she was pregnant with his child when he and McCoy returned to the present. When Spock learns of this through archaeological evidence, he uses The Guardian of Forever (from the episode "City On The Edge Of Forever") to return to the past and rescue the boy, and the rest of the story builds on that concept. The plot is handled extremely well, although I did find the ending rather unsatisfactory. (Though I must admit, it, too, would have fit very well into an original series story; it seems to follow the series guideline, "Never make a change to the cast or status quo of the characters; any change of that sort must be eliminated by the end of the story.")

This story is a sequel to the episode,"All of Yesterday's".
This book was the best! The characters are believable and weave into the storyline excellently. The character of Zar(Spock's son)was handled well. The conflicts between a father and son are written well.The plot and storyline is seemless from beginning to end. Spock, McCoy, and Kirk go back in time via the Guardian of Forever to the planet Sarpeidon to find Spock's son, and bring him to the Present. Also, later, the Romulans capture the Guardian of Forever, not knowing its a time portal. They think its a secret Starfleet base. Zar then helps Kirk and the Enterprise stop the Romulans headed by Sub-Commander Tal ("Enterprise Incident").

This book must be on your list as a must-read for Star Trek books! Check out the sequel, "Time for Yesterday" by A.C. Crispin

Read on!

"Yesterdays Son" is great for people who love to watch inner torment of charecters. The charecter of Zar (Spocks son) is wonderful to watch grow in his knew enviornment. The always pleasurable disputes between Mc Coy and Spock are also quite present in this delightfull story. It is also nice to see the mutual respect grow for the "father and son". All in all, a must have on my Star Trek scale.

This book was the best!The character of Zar(Spock's son)was believable and very well conscieved.Plot:Spock goes back in time to the planet Sarpeidon to find his son,Zar.After braving dangerous blizzards,Spock finds Zar,and brings him to the Enterprise.Then,all of a sudden,the Romulans attack the Time Planet(home of the Guardian of Forever)led by Spock's old nemesis,Subcommander Tal("The Enterprise Incident")!Kirk then leads an away team to the Time Planet to stop the Romulans before they alter history!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Although I prefer "hard" science fiction, as applied to the Star Trek universe, over fantasy, this story nevertheless is internally consistent and very entertaining. The character Zar, Spock's son, is unforgettable. Throw in the Romulans, who are always good for clean fun, and you have a very decent novel that holds the reader's interest.

The characterizations of the main characters are this novel's greatest strengths. Zar is vibrantly portrayed, and the author also does an excellent job with the personality clashes between Zar and Spock. All of this makes for an engaging and (like most Star Trek novels) quick read for a sunny afternoon.

This classic Star Trek novel addresses the aftermath of the episode 'All Our Yesterdays'. Spock and McCoy had been sent back to a doomed planet's ice age past where Spock had a romantic encounter with a lonely young woman, Zarabeth, who had been exiled there. Spock learns that had left Zarabeth with a child and realizes that the Guardian of Forever (City on the Edge of Forever) could enable him to rescue them both.

This is an excellent tie-in story. It is the author's first attempt at a Star Trek novel and in fact her first published book of any sort. She has come up with a well thought out premise that she has skillfully intregrated into the Star Trek universe, drawing on both classic TV episodes and other earlier Star Trek novels without altering any of the earlier aspects. She handles the established characters quite well and her new characters spring to life. This is a definite must read for any Star Trek fan, particularly those who find Spock 'fascinating'.