Spock Must Die! (Star Trek) (Mass Market Paperback)

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Product Description

When a transporter experiment goes horribly awry, suddenly there are two Mr. Spocks. One is the true First Officer of the "Enterprise." The other is his complete opposite, a traitor whose very existence poses a grave threat to the crew, the ship, and the Federation itself. One of the Spocks must die. But which one?.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 118 pages
• Publisher: Spectra; 3rd printing edition (March 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553246348
• ISBN-13: 978-0553246346
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,127,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SPOCK MUST DIE!, June 5, 2002

By	K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Spock Must Die! was the first original Star Trek novel, and in fact is one of the best. When the Klingons unexpectedly invade Federation space, the Enterprise heads to Organia to see why the all-powerfufl Organians haven't intervened. A transporter experiment en route backfires horribly, creating a duplicate of Mr. Spock. Evidence surfaces that one of the Spocks is a Klingon agent--but which one?

Written by renowned sci-fi author James Blish, who adapted most of the original TV series into short stories, Spock Must Die! is a remarkably fast and easy read, despite the author's regrettable tendency to let his characters lapse into opaque techspeak at every opportunity. Blish understood the Star Trek characters thoroughly though, and this comes through in his prose, particularly his portrayals of Kirk and Spock. While Spock Must Die! certainly doesn't mesh with established Trek continuity since its original publication date, the novel remains a fun, thrilling tale, escpecially for those of us who still wax nostalgic about classic Trek.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Spock Must Die, December 15, 2002

By	Shawn Weaver "coweaver" (WV United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Spock must die! (Star Trek Original Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Spock Must Die by James Blish (1970)

This was the first Star Trek novel ever published, written by the author of the books of adaptations of the TV episodes. At the time of publication, the original series had ended, three books of episode adaptations had been published, and Star Trek had just begun its trip into syndication into local markets. There was as yet no indication that there would ever be anything besides what had already occurred.

The spectacularly-titled story begins with the Enterprise on a deep-space mapping mission, when word comes of the outbreak of war with the Klingon Empire. This should be impossible according to the Organian Peace Treaty, but the ship and its crew are months away from Organia, Earth, the battle front, and separated from all of these by a large portion of the Empire. With options limited, Scott devises a plan. Recalling Dr. McCoys earlier objections to the transporter, positing that he had been killed the first time he had been transported, and a duplicate created. Scott proposes actually creating a duplicate, composed of tachyons, and sending such a duplicate over the many light years needed to reach Organia.

With transporter modifications in place, Mr. Spock is selected as the logical person to investigate on Organia. As Scott prepares to send a tachyon duplicate on its long journey, the chamber is shielded to allow for the operation, and the device activated. When the transport is finished, a surprise awaits. Instead of sending a duplicate to Organia, two Mr. Spocks are on the transporter platform, each claiming to be the original!

Now, Captain Kirk must devise the best plan to change the tide of the war, determine which Spock is the original, and keep his crew safe while rescuing the Federation. In the meantime, one of the Spocks is obviously trying to sabotage the ship, but which is really the imposter? All of these things must be determined in order to win the war.

The author uses a convenient device to key the plot, but presents it well enough that it can be covered by the willing suspension of disbelief. An award-winning science fiction writer and reviewer, Blish writes a plausible science angle, at least plausible by 1970 standards. The authors ending has been contradicted by subsequent movie and TV events, but at the time no one had any reason to suspect that there would ever be any more new Star Trek material. In fact, aside from fanzine publications, there was no new material for over six years, except for the animated show.

The novel is a good read, and quite short at 118 pages in the version I read. It is by no means a great book, but it is interesting and a page-turner. It is mostly of historical significance as the first of its kind, and as the only original material by the author of the TV adaptations. Blish died in 1975, shortly after completing the adaptations of all the TV episodes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The high point is McCoy's intelligent questioning of the consequences of technology, July 22, 2007

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Spock Must Die! (Star Trek - The Original Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the earliest Star Trek novels to be published after the original series was cancelled. First appearing in 1970, it still has some of the sexist tones of the original series that were quickly phased out in later Star Trek incarnations.
The premise is that the Klingons have attacked the Federation and they have somehow rendered the Organians powerless. At the time of the attack, the Enterprise finds the entire Klingon empire between them and the border between the Federation and Klingon space. Kirk quickly decides that their best option is to try to make contact with the Organians and determine why they have not intervened. Since it is too risky to cross so much Klingon space to reach the Organian planet, the plan is to beam Spock all the way to Organia on a long range transport. He is selected because he has met them, is the most capable to reason with them and Captain Kirk cannot leave the ship at a time of war.
The beaming strategy fails and suddenly there are two Spocks, both of which claims to be the original. Each retains the impeccable logic of the original and convincingly argues that they are the original and the other is the imposter. One is in fact a danger to the ship and Kirk and the remaining crew needs to be on guard. Eventually, the problem is solved and the Organians intervene to stop the war.
To me, the highlight of the book is McCoy's musings that the transporter commits murder each time it is used for the first time on a human. While there are holes in his arguments, the intelligent responses of Spock and Scotty make the book well worth reading. Such debates about the impact of technology on humans would have been widespread as the technology that was so much a part of Star Trek was developed. The debate also demonstrates that McCoy's abhorrence of technology is founded on intellect rather than base irrationality.