Written by William Shatner, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, & Judith Reeves- Stevens
SUMMARY:
Released in 1996 by Pocket Books, the 371-page Star Trek: The Return is the direct sequel to the first ‘Shatnerverse’ entry – 1995’s Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden. Given occasionally retroactive contradictions with Trek’s established mainstream continuity (i.e. the fate of the U.S.S. Enterprise-A), the so-called ‘Shatnerverse’ evidently occupies its own self-contained alternate timeline.
Set a few weeks after Star Trek: Generations (and as teased by The Ashes of Eden), Starfleet’s Veridan III salvage operation of the crashed U.S.S. Enterprise-D is unexpectedly besieged. At the base camp, Commander William Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi barely survive the unknown enemy’s onslaught. Is this ruthless attack merely a diversion? Meanwhile, elsewhere on Veridan III, a visiting Ambassador Spock directly witnesses the theft of Captain James T. Kirk’s remains from his mountaintop grave.
As it’s soon revealed, the Romulans have joined The Borg in a sinister alliance to destroy Federation opposition. Joining a covert Starfleet strike team, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher confirm this joint invasion has already commenced with the assimilation of the remote Starbase 804.
Worse yet, through use of alien technology, Kirk has now been resurrected and then brainwashed. His new mission is to kill The Borg’s greatest threat: Picard himself. As a sleeper agent for the Romulan/Borg alliance, Kirk’s restored body is infested with bionic nanites that helped bring the Starfleet legend back to life. Simultaneously, these same nanites are now slowly killing him. Kirk, meanwhile, experiences enigmatically haunting dreams occupied by the ghost of Spock’s father, Sarek.
Targeting Picard’s temporarily displaced crew (i.e. Worf, Geordi LaForge, & Data), a disguised Kirk intends to extract Picard’s whereabouts by any means necessary. Though instinctively resistant to his brainwashing, the amnesiac former captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise finds himself on an intercept course with allies turning on one another. With Riker and later Picard suspecting Ambassador Spock’s current Romulan ties, they wonder why The Borg didn’t assimilate Spock upon his brief capture. Spock, in turn, questions Picard’s own previous Borg assimilation. The rogue Kirk intends to take full advantage of such distrust – even as he is reunited with his two best friends.
With Dr. Julian Bashir’s help, a team of U.S.S. Enterprise luminaries (Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, Data, Worf, LaForge, Spock, Admiral McCoy, and Kirk) join a desperate Starfleet strike mission. Targeting The Borg’s home world, the Federation’s new makeshift Enterprise is caught in the crossfire by the same Romulans who had abducted Kirk. With their new Enterprise’s weaponry rendered inoperative, Starfleet’s two greatest captains both realize an ultimate sacrifice must be made. In order to thwart The Borg, will the simmering rivalry between Captains Kirk and Picard again end in tragedy?
The initial Kirk resurrection storyline subsequently concludes with 1997’s Star Trek: Avenger. The ‘Shatnerverse’ chronology would resume with two additional trilogies and, finally, a Starfleet Academy prequel in 2007.
Notes: In addition to hardcover, this title’s alternate formats include paperback and audiobook; however, as of this writing, a digital format isn’t available.
Purportedly, Shatner had pitched to Paramount Pictures after 1994’s Star Trek: Generations that the second Next Generation film explore Captain Kirk’s resurrection for the franchise’s upcoming 30th Anniversary. As Paramount opted to instead produce Star Trek: First Contact, one wonders how closely The Return expands upon Shatner’s initial premise.
REVIEW:
William Shatner (far more likely, his ghostwriters: Garfield Reeves-Stevens & Judith Reeves-Stevens) sharply concocts a slam-bang Trek adventure no doubt meant to be as cinematic as possible. Including tidbits of well-informed fan service (i.e. V’Ger, Spock’s prior mind-melds, etc.), Star Trek: The Return devises a plot far more aggressively complex than the old school ambitions of Kirk & Picard’s ill-fated Generations team-up. Think of it this way: Star Trek: The Return aspires for a complicated storyline more akin to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (and Star Trek: First Contact) than Generations.
Whereas Generations clearly made Kirk its expendable guest star, The Return boldly flips that concept upside down. Hence, it’s indisputable that Shatner’s take on Star Trek is that the franchise ought to still revolve around James T. Kirk. Everyone else (from Spock, Picard, etc. on down), therefore, comprises his high-profile supporting cast. As to a sixty-something Kirk’s inexplicable vigor, one might presume that his murky nanite-infused resurrection has transformed the Trek icon into something just short of ‘The Six Million Dollar Kirk.’
In addition to lots of Kirk, this storyline supplies a welcome exploration of Spock and, to a lesser degree, the ever-cranky Admiral McCoy, as to their geriatric presence in the Late 24th Century. As for Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker, and the primary Next Generation roster (plus guest star Dr. Julian Bashir), this novel at least lives up to their established characterizations. One can credit Garfield Reeves-Stevens & Judith Reeves-Stevens for ensuring that Picard’s team isn’t merely a hollow afterthought in a ‘Best of Both Worlds’ (pardon the expression) bridge between generations.
The significant difference, however, is that the Next Generation characters have been obviously diminished in favor of emphasizing Kirk’s star power. For instance, various scenes where Picard’s crew merely stands in the background observing Kirk (or Kirk & Picard) (or Kirk, Picard, & Spock) or make minimal contributions become abundant in the novel’s second half. For that matter, the amount of deference aimed at Kirk is never left lost upon readers (who should already get the point).
Spelling out further numerous contrivances building towards ‘Kirk vs. The Borg’ would likely present too many plot twist spoilers. Suffice to say, the Shatner team’s efforts to re-imagine The Next Generation as far more action with dense plotting and far less technobabble can be construed as a worthwhile endeavor. Conversely, The Return’s mostly coherent plot risks being cluttered with non-essential characters and still squeeze in sufficient ‘screen time’ for everybody. This gamble, in terms of pure entertainment value, pays off, but anyone’s reasonable sense of Trek plausibility may be stretched at times too thin.
Ultimately, as long as one doesn’t mind Shatner’s ego assuming the captain’s chair (to the shock of no one), Star Trek: The Return still delivers an intriguing read for Trekkers from any generation.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
None.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7½ Stars
