The Last Roundup (Star Trek) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "It was a dead world..." (more)
Key Phrases: nanoprobe virus, warp core breach, dilithium crystals, Standing Crane, Uncle Jim, Captain Kirk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Having saved the Federation one more time in Star Trek®: The Undiscovered Country™, Capt. James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ have finally gone their separate ways. Spock, McCoy, Sulu, and the others are spread out across the glaxy, pursuing their individual destinies -- until an interstellar crisis touches all their lives.

Bored with retirement and ill-suited to teaching at Starfleet Academy, Kirk jumps at the chance to help his nephews colonize an uninhabited planet in a distant corner of the Alpha Quadrant. He even manages to persuade Scotty and Chekov to come along for the ride.

But Kirk soon discovers that the hardy human colonists are not alone on the planet they call Sanctuary. An alien race, of whom little is known, has also established an outpost on Sanctuary for its own mysterious reasons. Suspicious, Kirk investigates, only to discover a terrifying threat that strikes at the secuity of the entire Federation.

Light-years from Starfleet Command, without a ship or a crew to call his own, Kirk thinks he faces the menace alone. Yet the bonds of loyalty transcend even the awesome distances of space, bringing together a legendary crew for one final, fantastic adventure!

Bridging the gap between two generations of Star Trek motion pictures, The Last Roundup fills in a missing chapter in Star Trek history -- and provides science fiction's greatest heroes with an unforgettable final hurrah.

About the Author

Christie Golden is the bestselling author of several acclaimed Star Trek® novels, including the Dark Matters trilogy. Gateways: No Man's Land, Seven of Nine, Marooned, The Murdered Sun, and Double Helix: The First Virtue (with Machael Jan Friedman). She has also written the S.C.E. e-book Hard Crash, as well as numerous other novels and short stories. She lives in Denver with her husband, two cats, and a white German shepherd.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 285 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743449096
• ISBN-13: 978-0743449090
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,626,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bland Trek fiction, June 28, 2002

By	Michael Hickerson (Augusta, GA) - See all my reviews

The latest Star Trek hardcover novel, "The Last Round-Up" promises to be the "final" adventure of the origianl series crew. However, instead of sending the crew riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory, we instead get them slumping to the finish line in a novel that is rather derivative of a lot of things you've read before in Trek fiction.

The story starts out with Captain Kirk, teaching classes at the Acadamy, but not fully satisfied with his life now that he's not commanding a starship (shades of Star Trek II). He is approached by his two nephews about going out to help them start a colony, based upon peaceful principles and doing pure scientific research. Figuring he could use the adventure and to get away from a student who is annoying him (a character created specifically for this book called Skalli, who gets real old, realy fast), Kirk agrees. But it turns out the planet his nephews and company are colonizing isn't all it was advertised to be (imagine that) and before you know it Kirk is up to his neck in a plot that threatens the entire future and stability of the Federation.

Christie Golden's first attempt at writing a classic Star Trek novel comes off as a rather pedestrian affair. It's got the feeling of the been-there, done-that throughout. In a lot of ways, the idea of Kirk heading out to set-up a colony echoes the six-part summer series New Earth from two summers ago. There are some twists and turns, but they are fairly obvious what they will be long before they are revealed in the book.

But for all it's disappointing aspects, the Last Round-Up has a few things to recommend. Golden does a decent job capturing the character of Kirk and she does have an intriguing idea of the Klingons owing him a favor and wanting to repay it after the events of Star Trek VI. However, these two things don't add up to enough to really make this one worth the hardcover price. The Last Round-Up is a fairly quick and then largely forgettable read. If you're really interested, I'd recommend waiting for paperback on this one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Last ... ( yawn ) ... Roundup, September 26, 2002

By	Mark Sheridan (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

It has been over a decade since the last movie featuring all of the original Star Trek crew, yet since then there have been a number of books claiming to be their last adventure. I am beginning to wonder if any of these authors know what the meaning of the word "last" actually is !!! For my money the best post "ST VI" book is without doubt William Shatner's "Ashes of Eden", but I'm afraid this one doesn't even come close to that. Here we have another writer clearly raised more on modern Star Trek than the original series who writes a largely lifeless tale where all the characters "get in touch with their feelings and get together for a group hug !" - well actually it's not quite that bad but it comes pretty close. I'm sorry but this kind of wimpy, revisionist Star Trek is just not my cup of tea, and in fact is what I blame for sapping the life out of the Star Trek legend. I can't help but be reminded of the Khan novels by Greg Cox from last year and the year before, which also were extremely weak stories inconsistent with established Star Trek fact. Golden is obviously of the same generation of writers, one who takes ideas from the original series but distorts them for the sake of the story she wants to write rather than adding to the overall Star Trek history. I also have to wonder if she is a "Star Wars" fan and this is her revenge on "Star Trek", because I'm sure other readers will note that the character of "Skalli" comes across as this novel's "Jar Jar Binks", with all that this implies. Much of the plot for this novel appears to be cobbled together from a host of Star Trek shows and films and is really just another tired retread, though I guess the reader can always play "now where did I see this before !", but what's the point. Again I find myself shaking my head that so much modern Star Trek has gone this way. If any real fans of the original series are interested and want to read about a planet called Sanctuary (*it really is an overused name in Star Trek !) then I would recommend the book "Sanctuary" by John Vornholt, Star Trek #61, which was published in September 1992, at least that has some excitement and mystery in it. As for this novel, at the end of the day if this is the last roundup I think the cows would have all fallen asleep out of boredom on the trail.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Final Bridge to Generations, December 24, 2003

By	"wwwjay-sincom" (Warsaw, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Roundup (Star Trek) (Mass Market Paperback)

I own this book. It was good but the trio of Spock, McCoy, and Kirk doing their things together as only they can do is lacking, and thats a bummer. The idea of the book was good though I think that the ending was somewhat of a let down. It was a little too easy to stop the destruction of warp drive engines. All in all it was enjoyable read, and if you're interested in Star Trek novels of the orignal series, this is a very good one to get the closure from the series that started it all.