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Rating:  -
Great story on how Spock and Kirk were found by starfleet and shaped to who they more familiarly are to us the reader. Great introduction if you saw a few episodes of Star Trek the first series, you would not be disappointed.
Rating:  -
I've just finished "Star Trek: Academy: Collision Course", by William Shatner, with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. This hardcover received extremely mixed reviews when it came out last October, so I put it beneath several other novels.
While it is well known that Shatner's previous nine-part hardcover saga (of Kirk's return from death beyond "Star Trek: Generations"), the so-called "Shatnerverse", has always operated within its own, ummm, pocket universe, this new prequel-to-TOS novel doesn't necessarily quash anything canonical (ie. onscreen, live action material), although it certainly stretches a few "fanonical" friendships.
I usually enjoy Star Trek hardcovers very much, but I began this one with great trepidation. Not many people online seemed to like it. Essentially this novel ignores most previous ST novels, especially the ones about Kirk's father, and Kirk Sr's career on the Enterprise under Captain Robert April. But the premise is intriguing, if not requiring suspension of disbelief. We see both teenaged Jim Kirk and teenaged Spock consorting with criminals, being shunted of to Starfleet training without a fair court martial, not to mention seemingly numerous links to young Kirk's very traumatic experiences under Kodos the Executioner, long before the secret events of "The Conscience of the King" (TOS) are revealed.
As Vulcan Ambassador Sarek, and Eugene Mallory - son of a redshirt we already know will one day die under then-Captain Kirk's command - discover, a little logic can go a long way when solving a crime. Annoying though,
And deja vu!: despite my many misgivings about this hardcover, the action in "Collision Course" certainly comes thick and fast. A real collision course, actually. People may have slammed it for ignoring "Final Frontier" and "Best Destiny", two very strong George Kirk Sr stories by Diane Carey, but there's also lots to enjoy.
There'll be frustrations no matter what. Jim's Dad is called George Joseph "Joe" Kirk is this one! And, for those who disliked "Star Trek: Enterprise", the TV series prequel to TOS, you may well be tetchy about Academy buildings named for Archer, Tucker and Mayweather - and even a non-"name drop" for Hoshi Sato and her husband, via their little great grandson! (It pays to read the fine print!)
This is a novel with a new, but still valid, take on the Sarek/Spock relationship. And it's about an extremely troubled, very different Jimmy Kirk, one far removed from the Kirk we met in previous prequels to TOS, (and sure to be overruled by the upcoming ST XI) but after the Tarsus IV experiences related in "Collision Course", who can blame him?
If you can make it through the first four or five chapters, it's easy to keep reading!
Rating:  -
I have been a fan of William Shatners Star Trek books for a while now, and when I heard about this book that tells us how Spock and Kirk first meet and how they both come to be in Starfleet I bought the book right away. Like all of his other books this one doesnt disappoint. This book takes you through a complex conspiracy within Starfleet that teams up their two greatest heroes and takes them on an epic journey. If you are a fan of Star Trek and William Shatner you definitely need to get this book. I cant wait for the next book in this series to come out to see what further adventures a young Kirk and Spock get into as they begin their journey through Starfleet on their way to becoming two of its greatest heroes.
Rating: -
The Star Trek Universe... according to Bill Shatner. When I first started reading "Collision Course," I was prepared for another adventure. A 'pre-captain' trip back in time.
Who would have thought that Jim Kirk was a teen-aged punk. Grand-Theft Auto in just the first few pages. His brother Sam no better... maybe worse. Then to try to get out of his own trouble he implicates a not so innocent Spock.
Sorry Bill... I just don't buy this. At some point in the process of writing this book I can't help but think that maybe... just maybe, Judith or Garfield stepped back and said, 'Bill, uh... do you really, really want to say that?'
Rating: -
I found this book to be a lot of fun. Everything from the Kirk/Spock meeting to their relationship developing into a friendship. It was also interesting to see William Shatner's take on why Kirk joined Starfleet. As the present story unfolds you also get the story of why Kirk used to hate Starfleet so much. The flashbacks are about the murderous dictator that Kirk had dealings with when he was thirteen years old. These events are also discussed in the Original Series Episode "The Conscience of the King". Shatner gives a little bit of that back story here and there until you know it all at the exact time you should. Most authors that try to do that fail. Shatner did not. The current story has Kirk and Spock both being accused of stealing a car which has been connected to a lot of Starfleets property being stolen. To eliminate themselves as the guity party they must find out what really happened. The magical chemistry that Kirk and Spock have had for the last 40 years is terrific in this book. There are a few things that Spock says "We are all ears", and.... I can't remember the other one or two others that don't seem to fit the Spock that we all know and love. I believe if you go to Startrek.com and look up Kirk and Spock's time in Starfleet it has Spock one year ahead, but that didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would. Also maybe the middle drug on just a little more than I would like. However, most of the book is very fast paced and a lot of fun. I have actually found myself to be very critical of Star Trek novels but for the most part this was a great book. If you are a fan of Star Trek more specifically of Shatner's this is a must read.
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