A review by vtchris
The Return by Judith Reeves-Stevens, William Shatner, Garfield Reeves-Stevens
3.0
I used to be a big fan of Star Trek but I started to loose interest when "Enterprise" came out. I also did not care for the pervasive humor in the Star Trek movies after Start Trek IV. This book was lent to me by a friend and I was unsure about it especially considering it was authored by William Shatner. I am using the hard-copy where pages are referenced.
I will admit that I did not get into this story until I was a least past the first third of the book. Many times a book written by someone famous is actually largely written by the co-authors but I do think William Shatner had significant influence on this work. He clearly understands the characters of James Kirk and Spock. Unfortunately the characterization of Picard frequently did not ring as true as Kirk's character.
Also, I found it telling that more than once you find anachronisms like "... he recognized the distinctive blue signature of Starfleet phasers" (page 19). Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but I don't remember seeing blue phasers since the original series.
I also found it interesting that there were more than a few significant references to Star Trek V (also authored by William Shatner). At least these point to a William Shatner authorship!
The book could have used another proof read too. You can expect to find awkward sentences like: "There're not my conclusions..." (p163) or "...Riker wondered if there such things as ghosts." (p200). Several such occurrences jumped out at me...
So if you can get past these issues, the story is engaging!
Spoilers Follow!
[spoilers]I could have done without Data's interest in swearing, it is unfortunate that we don't have Gene Roddenberry's guiding hand anymore, but in Shatner's defense, he isn't breaking any new ground here that wasn't already part of the Star Trek Generations movie. Keeping on the same subject of base humor, I also could have done without Deanna's reference to the cleanliness of Quarks holosuite.
Although I love Dr. McCoy and enjoyed many of his lines and observations, it is getting a little hard to admit that he is still alive at this point. One begins to wonder if any of these characters will ever pass in the Star Trek universe. For a character that didn't like the transporter does he strike you as one that would submit to three heart transplants?
The new perspective on the Borg was interesting. I liked the idea of each race having its own "Locutus". I liked the V'Ger tie in and the visuals of the Borg assimilation atrocities made this an interesting read!
I don’t blame William Shatner for wanting a more fitting final mission for Kirk’s character and in my opinion, this story does a good job in correcting it.[/spoilers]
I will admit that I did not get into this story until I was a least past the first third of the book. Many times a book written by someone famous is actually largely written by the co-authors but I do think William Shatner had significant influence on this work. He clearly understands the characters of James Kirk and Spock. Unfortunately the characterization of Picard frequently did not ring as true as Kirk's character.
Also, I found it telling that more than once you find anachronisms like "... he recognized the distinctive blue signature of Starfleet phasers" (page 19). Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but I don't remember seeing blue phasers since the original series.
I also found it interesting that there were more than a few significant references to Star Trek V (also authored by William Shatner). At least these point to a William Shatner authorship!
The book could have used another proof read too. You can expect to find awkward sentences like: "There're not my conclusions..." (p163) or "...Riker wondered if there such things as ghosts." (p200). Several such occurrences jumped out at me...
So if you can get past these issues, the story is engaging!
Spoilers Follow!
[spoilers]I could have done without Data's interest in swearing, it is unfortunate that we don't have Gene Roddenberry's guiding hand anymore, but in Shatner's defense, he isn't breaking any new ground here that wasn't already part of the Star Trek Generations movie. Keeping on the same subject of base humor, I also could have done without Deanna's reference to the cleanliness of Quarks holosuite.
Although I love Dr. McCoy and enjoyed many of his lines and observations, it is getting a little hard to admit that he is still alive at this point. One begins to wonder if any of these characters will ever pass in the Star Trek universe. For a character that didn't like the transporter does he strike you as one that would submit to three heart transplants?
The new perspective on the Borg was interesting. I liked the idea of each race having its own "Locutus". I liked the V'Ger tie in and the visuals of the Borg assimilation atrocities made this an interesting read!
I don’t blame William Shatner for wanting a more fitting final mission for Kirk’s character and in my opinion, this story does a good job in correcting it.[/spoilers]