Star Trek: Preserver

Rating:
Summary: Shatner/Kirk fans, this one's for you
Review: Having read the entire mirror universe saga, I can honestly say that I am glad it is over. I have read most of Shatners books and I have found most of them to be rather enjoyable. Preserver is another example of Shatners ability to write great star trek stories that keep you reading, with the caveat that you are a fan of both Kirk and Shatner. I really did like the story of the entire saga, kept me reading for hours and hours but in the end I had exhausted myself trying to ignore the Kirk love of the novel in order to appreciate the story. Ok so Shatner wrote the book. I guess I should have expected to see some ego oozing out of the pages, but Kirk is made out to be superhuman. In fact Kirk is made more or less a God amongst peons, so much more than just a former starship captain. Kirk is just superior. The story saved the book once again, and it ended my run of reading Shatner books. I don't think I could read more Kirk-centred books. I like Kirk, even Shatner, but to make Kirk out to be super super super super super, and to add emphasis, super man is just too much. The TNG crew is pretty useless and not needed in this book. In fact, I think that the whole interaction of the original and TNG crews is getting tiresome and the novelty has worn off. All-in-all, This, as well as most of the Shatner books, will appeal mostly to Kirk fans, but everyone else could enjoy the story if they can get past the God status that Kirk is given.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book, But Somewhat Disappointing
Review: I eagerly awaited the conclusion to what started in Spectre and Dark Victory, but now wonder if this is chapter three of four (or five). While Preserver is a fine addition to William Shatner's second life of James T. Kirk, it falls short after the build up of the first two books. Following a wonderful opening with some intense action, the story becomes very convoluted as it progresses. This isn't necessary a bad thing, but the ending doesn't bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. There were some superb parts that were top notch Trek, but the ending left me wanting. Of course we are promised James T. Kirk will return at the end, but with no indication how, when, or why. Also, it was evident Shatner's recent tragedy, with the death of his wife, played a role here and that could have been left out in my opinion. Maybe I'm being too critical and the next book will address what was missing here, but this could have been better. Shatner and company should have stayed with the Mirror Universe as a threat to the Federation as opposed to going too far in the direction of this book. Despite the criticisms, it was nice to have some of the Original characters interacting with the Next Generation. Also, the banter between Kirk and Tiberius was very well written and quite amusing at times. I could actually visualize Shatner in both roles and that made this a joy to read despite my problems with the story. Live long and prosper James T. Kirk.

Rating:
Summary: Shatner did it again!
Review: It doesn't happen often that a famous actor becomes a writer. Far from everybody who tries makes it over to the other shore. The majority drowns somewhere on its way. One of those few who made it is the actor William Shatner who was playing one of the most famous captains in history of humankind, James T. Kirk of Starship Enterprise. After his alter ego's death in the motion picture "Generations", Shatner simply rivived Kirk and created a bestselling novel series around the captain of the Enterprise. His first Kirk novel wasn't a hit, but "The Return", his second, is one of my favorite Trek novels so far. His first trilogy ended with an equally good story "Avenger". "Spectre" was the beginning of Shatner's second spactacular trilogy in which Kirk must face a threat from the mirror universe. "Preserver" is the last chapter in this trilogy.

The beginning of the book is quite dramatic: Teilani, Kirk's wife, is dying, and only Tiberius, the protagonist's evil counterpart from the mirror universe, can save her. In return for Tiberius' support, Kirk is ready to provide his worst enemy with data that would help him become almost invincible. After a few space-battles and fist-fights, Tiberius' plans are ruined by an almighty species called Preservers. Kirk, torn between a second family tragedy (something went wrong with his and Teilani's child) and his duty for the Federation, joins forces with Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E (although the TNG crew doesn't behave the way it did during its TV and movie times, I was quite satisfied with its presence in the book; for once Picard & Co. weren't completely helpless and didn't depend on Kirk and his former crewmates as they did in other books by this author) to discover the reasons for the presence of the aliens and their role in the development of the Federation. And, last but not least, they must prevent the end of the universe, which a group of scientists has predicted.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, but I assure that it will be plenty of dramatic developments you'll be shocked of. Unfortunately we don't see enough of the Preservers who made the impossible possible during the history of the Federation (Kirk got his command of the original Enterprise through the influence of those mysterious aliens). Apart from the missing Preservers, the story has minor logical flaws, which is ironical because Shatner obviously respects the Vulcans and tries to stay as logical as possible. For once, I was fully satisfied with characterizations which rise above the usual level of Star Trek novels.

One of the best aspects of this book is the profound irony which Shatner uses to describe settings. He takes the universe of Star Trek seriously, but he notices its flaws as well and is courageos enough to criticize them in a funny way. Another advantage of "Preserver" is the atmosphere typical for Sci-Fi, which we don't get in most Trek novels. There are many stages to make the plot larger in scale and a lot of action you can get tired of from time to time. And this novel gives us some ideas to think about, a surprisingly rare phenomenon in Star Trek books.

Anyway, "Preserver" is a very good novel with a nice plot, interesting characters, humour, a portion of Vulcan logic and much more. There are some weak points, all rights, but they are only minor and don't really disturb while you are reading. And you should do it if you are a true Sci-Fi fan!

PS: If you haven't read the previous 2 books of the mirror universe trilogy, I would recommend to do it because otherwise you will have problems understanding the beginning of "Preserver".

Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars for the story i heard on Audio CD.
Review: James T. Kirk and friends Vs Emperor Tiberius. This the 6th ST book done by William Shatner and friends (and book 3 of the mirror mirror trilogy) and it is a bit below the standards set by the first 5. I must say though that I haven't read the book, only the abridged audio CD. The chase part of the book was hard to follow. Shatner does a great job on all his audio CD.

If you read the other five, you have to read this one. Shatner and friends are the best story tellers in the ST universe. I hope they plan to keep the books coming, and include characters from all the series.

What about a trilogy called: DATA THE RETURN. Kirk and Picard go back to the time of Capt Archer and set out to steal a Borg Devise that could revive Data. ST has little continuity anyway, so what's the harm.

This review is more the Abridged Audio CD version.

Rating:
Summary: Losing Faith in Shatner
Review: SPOILER ALERT -- If you care, some crucial details will be revealed in this review: Written in the typically fractured, emotional Shatner style - but well-done nonetheless - Kirk faces the Preservers, as powerful as any gods we humans have made up. But several key flaws make the entire 6-book series not worth reading, all because of how these flaws affect the ending. 1) No need to bring Shatner's personal tragedy over to a major character. This action was totally arbitrary and ruled out innumerably interesting plot lines for future books. 2) Tiberius' change of heart was completely unsubstantiated and simply done to get him out of the way. 3) The last 2 chapters were meaningless in terms of the overall story. In fact, the basic premise - that the Preservers must teach the Federation that the Prime Directive is arrogant - was taken up by "Q" in ST:TNG Episode 1 !! The idea that the universe revolves around one man was used in the final episode of ST:TNG. It barely worked then & barely works now. But to use Kirk, Teilani, and the child for a useless lesson that could have been taught without tragedy is absurd and rings false. The plot turns simply to pull our heartstrings, and we don't appreciate the lack of storytelling skill in doing so. So the reader loses his faith in Shatner. What did we read 6 books for? To find Kirk evolve into a loving character - only to see the object of that love destroyed in order to "teach a lesson" about the Prime Directive and to make sure Kirk goes back out to the stars? Give us a break! Bill - earn our faith back by having Kirk go to the Guardian of Forever and change the events leading up to tragedy. Now, that's a violation of the PD we'd like to see and it continues the evolution of the Kirk character.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! The build up was sure worth it! Trek at it's best!
Review: The end of the second trilogy brings everything full circle and then some for our heroes. Tragedy, triumph, and wonderful character moments are included in a story that reaches far back into Trek's past and brings everything up to the present. I have written reviews of all of Shatner's other books in this series and I will say again: I look forward to these books the way I used to look forward to the movies. Everything is so well written in them and the characters are treated so well that you can see them and hear them. In this last book of the second trilogy, Shatner and the Garfield Reeves Stevens couple present us a story worthy of two Kirks. The mysteries laid down on Dark Victory are given some answers but nothing is ever truly given away; indeed, there are even more mysteries. Think Star Trek meets X-Files meets 2001, and that's what this book is. There are some more surprises in store for Kirk and company, but what amazes me about these books is that even when there is all this activity going on, the time is always taken to treat all the characters with reverence. Everyone gets a moment to shine. Kirk sounds like Kirk, Spock sounds like Spock, Picard sounds like Picard, etc. Original series episodes like City on the Edge of Forever,Miri, The Corbomite Maneuver and The Paradise Syndrome among others all of a sudden have brand new meaning and validity. Even the events of Star Trek First Contact are given tons of meaning and suddenly the events depicted in that movie are given the feeling of importance that Berman and his people have been unable to convey since they took over the franchise. I look at all of these books as corrections on mediocrity. Some old friends from some of the other Shatner books resurface here, and the ending will have your draw dropping and probably a tear in your eye. After reading these books thus far, I just can't believe that Rick Berman turned down the story for The Return (the second book in this series.) That lack of taste and initiative shows to this day in the bland, irrelevant, and boring soap opera that Trek has become. I gurantee that if these books, starting with The Return, had been allowed to be made into movies, the Star Trek franchise would be as popular if not more so then it was when Star Trek IV came out. Instead of going for the quick buck, if you give the fans what they want, you may have to spend more time and money up front, but you reap what you sew, and these kinds of stories would insure that Star Trek would live to see its 100th anniversary. As is, I doubt it will see 40. Mr. Berman, let the big boys make the movies- stick with TV. Let some real writers back in there to freshen things up, too. (Besides the same TV writers.) If you want to see and remember what real Star Trek is and see the continuation of an ongoing saga in an entire universe, get all of these books! You won't believe the difference in quality.