F/SF

Piece missing from dust jacket spine

This is a workmanlike novelization of the second Star Trek film, with all the limitations and requirements that carries. The database shows Nicholas Meyer as the author, and he is credited with the film script, but the novelization is definitely the work of Vonda McIntyre, a noted author in the science fiction genre and a dyed-in-the-wool Star Trek fan. She has added or expanded on backstory for some of the minor characters, most specifically Saavik, Khan’s sidekick Joaquim, and the staff involved in the development of the Genesis device.

Having only recently re-watched The Wrath of Khan, I found the differences between the film and McIntyre’s novelization more noticeable than they might otherwise have been. The major one, of course, is the absence in the novel of the “Remember” scene just before Spock enters the room in which he will die. McIntyre, as is common with novelizations of films, was working from a shooting script, and as every good Trekker knows, that scene was an afterthought – one intended to provide the stepping stone for what turned out to be the second film in a trilogy. Also key was another single word in the earlier dialogue, in which Kirk confronts the mother of his son. In the book (and thus, apparently in the shooting script) the line was “Why didn’t you tell me?” (and she gets to point out with great logic, that he should have been able to count to nine). In the final cut of the film, the line is “Why didn’t you tell him?” (emphasis mine), which puts a whole other spin on Kirk’s absentee father-ism, allowing him to say “I did what you asked – I stayed away”, thus retaining his essential step-up-to-the-plate good-guy image (and proving that yes, he can count to nine).

The novel probably belongs on the shelf of the raving Trek completionist; for most other readers it is a curiosity at best, and perhaps serves as an interesting what-if in the differences a minor tweak can make to a story line. ( )

This novel adds whole storylines that aren't in the movie - maybe that were in early drafts? - and also features Vonda McIntyre's pet characters, which aspect I like a lot. It makes the whole universe of Star Trek novels feel more real somehow.

How is it that the film (and book) Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan is 37 years old? It blows my mind. The recent death of Vonda McIntyre prompts me to accelerate the reading of two books of hers I have on my read this year shelf. Last year I read her Star trek novel 'The Entropy Effect' which was an early entry in the long running series of stories by many authors, and I thought it was one of the best Trek novels I have read.

This novelization of the second Star Trek film from 1982 is book #7 in the original pocketbook Star Trek series of books that began after the first ST film in 1979. Some of these early novels are very good and some are pretty bad. This is one of the very good ones. McIntyre bases the story on the screenplay but this is not a note for note copy - she clearly wants to give us a good story and puts some meat on the bones of the original. The film story is here and if like me you think it one of the best (and possibly THE BEST) Star Trek films, then you are going to like this novel even more. The original film was rather scary in some places. So is the book. It has an excellent plot that expanded the lives of some of our favorite characters from the original series and introduced new characters. Simply put I really liked this story and think it one of the best Trek stories and I wish the added stuff was in the original film. The expanded story of Saavik is a real plus and the novel, like the film, begins with Saavik. I'll give you two words. Kobayashi Maru. Quite a start.

The characters in here all were spot on. Now I need to rewatch the film. ( )