HC - Book Club Edition

In this much-expanded novelization of the film, McIntyre spends almost as much time on the secondary plot threads as on the primary one.

She pays particular attention to McCoy's struggles as he tries to retain his own mental equilibrium against intrusions he can neither understand nor control. Carol Marcus is followed at length as she attempts to deal with the deaths of her friends and co-workers and to justify the decision she made to conceal David's parentage from him. The scenes between her and Kirk are as bitter and angry as anything ever presented in Trek's can't-we-all-get-along world; in fact, there's a bitterness and sense of betrayal that hangs around Kirk like an ugly aura all through this novel.

David Marcus is also fleshed out, perhaps unfortunately, because he never comes off as anything more than a spoiled, petulant, angry young man whose own impatience carries the seeds of his ultimate downfall. The romance between his character and Saavik never manages to feel anything but contrived; as a result, her anguish at his death lacks emotional punch.

After all this build-up, the eventual retrieval of Spock from the disintegrating Genesis Planet and the ritual to replace his katra in his body, feels rushed and is somewhat of a letdown.

This one is arguably the best of the three novelizations. It feels like MccIntyre was given enough time and creative freedom to shape the story into something more than the narrative form of a shooting script. Still, it contains flaws -- some of which were inherent in the material she had to work with.

If it's less than perfect -- and it is -- it's still a mildly interesting expansion of some side issues that were ignored in the films. ( )

Straight down the middle - though it does reference Mandala Flynn, and explain why Amanda wasn't there for Spock's resurrection!

One of the best of the movie novelization because of the sheer amount of original content that is not seen in either the movie or the comic book adaption. The novel fleshes out the deep sorrow experienced by all in the aftermath of Spock's death and delves deeper into David's relationship with Saavik (a romantic one) and his father (more contentious then seen onscreen). Scotty gets his own subplot involving a return home to bring his nephew's body to rest, but doesn't find a very welcome affair. There's plenty of other shading in of characterization, and various plot points in the movie are more clearly laid and explained, including why Uhura doesn't go with the Enterprise and how she get to Vulcan. If you are a fan of the movie, do yourself a favor and seek this book out. It adds much greater dimension to the movie and is a must-read for all Trekkies. ( )

This is what a novelization of a movie should be! It provides supporting detail and backstory, without making the story drag or contradicting the events of the film. Everything McIntyre does here enriches the story, and it's a different experience going back and watching the film again after reading this. It's extremely impressive how well the author fleshes out even minor characters, giving them depth, motivation and unique voices.

This was a rewarding read, as a stand-alone novel or as a companion to the film. ( )