Collision Course (Star Trek, Academy)

It is always with a certain amount of trepidation that I watch or read something "historical" that is set within the Star Trek universe that I love. I am not the kind of geek who lives and dies by the canon, but still I don't quite like it when writers muck about too much with things that might not quite jive with it. This is one of (the many) reasons for my concern and hesitation regarding the forthcoming Star Trek movie "prequel," and it has ended up coloring, to a certain extent, my enjoyment of this very serviceable Trek novel.

As usual, Mr. Shatner is assisted by a couple of well-known (in Trek circles, anyway) co-writers, the Reeves-Stevenses, and it is unknown just what the extent of their involvement is. I was something of a fan of Shatner's "TekWar" series of novels, and though they were, I'm fairly certain, ghost-written, they were understood to be largely Mr. Shatner's work. My feeling is that he is the "idea man," and that he and his co-writers work together to build the plot and storyline, while they do most of the heavy-lifting. Ultimately, it's not really all that important, as this is still a Star Trek novel, whether it's written by William Shatner or Joe Bob Davis. What Shatner does bring to this novel, presumably, is a unique perspective into the mind and motivations of the main protagonist--James T. Kirk, rebellious youth.

Overall, this is a nice little book. There's some good character interaction, a bit of peril that's not too over-the-top, and a somewhat interesting main plot that ties into a part of Kirk's past and allows for a large helping of surprisingly good exploration of that part.

I particularly enjoyed some of the interactions between Spock and his parents. I felt like they captured these characters possibly the best out of all of them. We see Spock struggling with his human side, Sarek living in denial, and Amanda trying to be understanding to both and hold the family together. It's a good dynamic and well realized. The same cannot be said for the Kirk family characterization.

But where this book falters, for me, is in those parts that become a bit uncertain when held up to the light of canon Trek. Not that anything in the book (so far as I noticed, anyway) directly conflicts with anything that was explicitly covered by the original series episodes. The trouble is more in that, had these events happened, they most certainly would have been discussed in any of several of the original episodes where they might have been relevant.

That Kirk and Spock might have been friends before the vulcan served with Captain Pike on the Enterprise was never explicitly denied, but you would think that Kirk would have been more familiar with Spock's history with that captain, had they been friends all along. My impression was always that Kirk and Spock were both assigned to the Enterprise, and that they became friends while serving together in that capacity--a notion that this novel doesn't support.

Finally, the manner in which Kirk and Spock (and their small team) manage to solve the puzzle and save the day is a bit too contrived in the details for my taste. Not to give it away, but certain things happen in those closing chapters that would have been impossible for Kirk to never talk about.

I will say that the authors (or their editorial team) did a great job researching various canon and non-canon ideas. There were lots of touches not only from established classic canon, but also from Enterprise-series canon and non-canon sources as well.

Despite my misgivings, this was an enjoyable book, and well worth the read if you're a fan of the Kirk. If you have trouble looking past some of the liberties that authors take with gaps in the canon, you might want to avoid this 'til you get over yourself a bit. If you're new to (classic) Trek, this might be an interesting introduction to the two major characters, and to the universe as a whole.