Written by William Rotsler
SUMMARY:
Published in 1982 through Simon & Schuster’s Wanderer Books, this 159-page movie tie-in paperback was part of three-pack gift set (please see Notes below). Star Trek II Biographies features Starfleet backstories (in alphabetical order) for: Lt. Commander Pavel Chekov; Admiral James T. Kirk; Commander/Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy; Commander Montgomery Scott; Captain Spock (posthumously); Lt. Commander Hikaru Sulu; and Lt. Commander Nyota Uhura.
As indicated in the chapters for Chekov and Spock, this book is set immediately after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In addition to revealing each character’s Starfleet records (including their academy history), the seven Enterprise crew members are profiled through snippets of correspondence and interviews, as well as excerpts from supposed 23rd Century books.
Note: Chekov’s ‘debriefing’ grimly contradicts the fate of the U.S.S. Reliant’s crew implied in the film. It’s possible that Rotsler was working off an earlier draft of the script.
REVIEW:
It’s not exactly what the title implies. Instead of easy-to-digest, straight-forward biographical summaries, each segment delves into a character’s backstory through an insightful combination of various supposed resources, including private correspondence. Hence, its bogus bibliography is fun to peruse. Of the seven profiles, at the expense of Sulu and Uhura’s short profiles, readers get far more expansive looks at Kirk and Spock. A Kirk highlight is a poignant private letter from David Marcus sent to his mother about the recent revelation re: whom his famous father is.
Posthumous recollections by Spock’s Starfleet Academy classmates is also worth checking out. The same applies to some rare depth re: Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and McCoy, as their personal lives were usually ignored by the TV series and the movies. As for Chekov, the Original Series TV episode, “The Way to Eden,” is helpful viewing re: his past love life. Also, his section has the most intriguing angle, as it’s a combination debriefing/deposition by Starfleet intelligence.
To author William Rotsler’s credit, he makes these narratives an interesting reference guide. Clearly, Star Trek II Biographies isn’t flat-out kiddie entertainment, nor was it meant to be. This obscure book does make a good read for long-time fans (possibly, in this instance, adults more so than the intended pre-teen/teen audience) who won’t care how dated Rotsler’s material seems.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
There is a ten-page ‘bibliography,’ which includes books supposedly written by the characters themselves. Each section has a single black-and-white full-page close-up of the character — these stills appear in color on the book’s cover.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
Notes: Rotsler further wrote Star Trek II: Distress Call (a choose-your-own-adventure-type book) and Star Trek II: Short Stories, making Biographies part of a kid’s three-pack. In 1984, he also released in tandem Star Trek III: Short Stories and The Vulcan Treasure (another choose-your-own-adventure).
