Like so many original Trekkers, I found the attempt by the "new generations" to kill off the Kirk character thoroughly appalling. Shatner's resurrection of Kirk, while an amusing conflict of interest(!), is a wonderful "take that" that undoes all of the damage. The series is actually really good science fiction adventure which captures the epic spirit of the original TV and film series extremely well. Aspects of "Ashes of Eden" smack of romantic cheese, but once into "Return", we get down to business. There is only one Star Trek captain, and it is Kirk. Long live.

Ashes of Eden is my favorite of these 3, such an excellent story I felt that I was watching a Star Trek movie in my mind.... The Return was slow to start, but really picked up and merged Kirk into the Next Generation universe, ended with a bang! Avenger was very cool, and it had some awesome reunitings, the Virogen plague was very interesting. But of all of this, I was surprised at how good of a story-teller Shatner was, he gets into the plots right away without boring the reader with useless details, all that matters it seems with these books are that they are fun, fun, fun!! I am a huge Star Wars fan, but these books are making my Star Trek desire come to life, Shatner needs to get into having these books developed into a film that incorporates The original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and the mirror universe (I am currently reading Spectre-It is soooooo cool!)

Get this book, it will take you very little time to read all three stories, I read them all in 6 days, and I usually take a couple of weeks to a month to read just one novel. A+++++++

I found this story to be quite captivating, and all three books almost inpossible to put down. I read all three, in one sitting each. These books, I must admit are not masterfully written, but are so filled with adventure that the writting just melts away. I geatly recommend this book.

FOUR SCIENCE FICTION CLASSICS is an exceptional compilation of the absolute best the genre had to offer in the 1940s and 1950s. It is composed of six powerful stories which transcend the decades in which they were written, stirring the heart and mind as powerfully now as when they were first published.

While these stories would shine under any conditions, the narrations of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy actually serve to further energize the prose. I was especially moved by the performance of William Shatner. Despite having been a fan of Star Trek for decades, I was completely unprepared for the depth and the brilliance of his vocal talents. Shatner's clear insight into the stories and their characters radiates with every word and intonation.

I could not more strongly recommend either an audio book or a science fiction collection.

I only wanted "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" and it did come separate on tape and even on vinyl at one time. It did not hurt to get the rest of the tapes. Foundation: The Psychohistorians is what the Foundation trilogy is all about and the newer foundation books you can read the separate reviews. The Martian Chronicles is ok but I do not want to spend time reviewing this section, as better reviews will be under the book description.

However Mimsy is a different animal. So I will say something about this. It is a small sci-fi story about a formula that allows you into an alternate universe that everyone used to have access to. The problem with getting there is that it requires a different paradigm and a formula. The paradigm requires a mindset that diapers as we get older and the formula is in front of us if we know where to look. An added plus is that it is read to us enthusiastically by William Shatner

This represents William Shatner's coming-of-age as an author of science fiction. His grand saga of inter-planetary politics which he started with "Man O' War" has grown into a homily about ourselves & our species. Carefully woven into this epic is the fact that we humans, once we have something in our grasp, do not like to let it go without a fight. Well done! For my full review please go to:

This book has real life stories about police, paramedics, and firefighters. The police stories talk about crimes and they tell how they go after the criminal to catch them. The paramedics talk about them rescuing people from accidents and taking them to the hospital. The firefighters stories are pretty self-explanitory, they talk about them fighting fires and usually rescuing people. This book is based on the hit TV show Rescue 911 and is really worth getting if you have any interest in heroic and exciting stories. I would recommend this book to everyone that likes to read! It's an awesome book.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry readings by some of the best actors in the world. If you allow yourself only one tape of poetry, I would recommend this one. The rendition of Lawrence's "The Snake" is spellbining, and the reading of Macneil's "A Death in the Family" is quietlly gut-wrenching. And you will be surprised how well Bill Shatner recites about whales. Buy this tape, and you will listen to it again and again.

I love listening to this book. It has so much action in it. I hope you enjoy it.

Another hit in the "Tek" series. On the edge excitement from page 1 to the last.

This novel is well written and captures the characters well, however it does little to develop the Star Trek universe -- and does a lot that goes against some basic tenets. There is a great deal of self-indulgence on the part of William Shatner - and the plot is basically a tribute to Kirk and how "fantastic" he is. Given the return of Spock in the earlier movies - we can accept the fact that Kirk can be returned from the dead via alien technology. However, we can't accept the fact that the Borg simply decide to work WITH a race (Romulans) instead of trying to assimilate them. We also can't accept the fact that Kirk is suddenly god-like in his power/strength - and he is now apparently irresistible to all women! For all it's flaws, this isn't a bad novel at all! I haven't read the third one yet - but I sincerely hope it has more of a plot - and is less of a homage to Kirk. (Apparently, Shatner has signed to do 2 more in this series ... he must have a burning desire to keep Kirk alive)

This book is an excellent read with more twists and turns than the Blue Ridge Parkway in the rain, and it's a terrific sequel to the movie, Star Trek, Generations. The author uses the Next Generation Enterprise crew, the Deep Space Nine crew, Ambassador Spock and Kirk's "resurrection," very cleanly within a great yarn about a Borg/Romulan invasion. Now, there is a spot near the end of the book where the crews gather in the "new" Enterprise for a "hopeless" battle that seems a bit forced and the ending is rather predictable, but all in all I found myself having quite a bit of fun. I am told that William Shatner had a ghostwriter for his novels. Probably... But whomever it is - Shatner or not - they write very well, not allowing the details or the science to overshadow the fun! (I am also reading the "Star Trek, NEW EARTH" series - now there's a tedious read...whew!) If you enjoyed the movie Star Trek, Generations, you'll absolutely love this book.

After seeing Star Trek V the Final Frontier I was almost turned off by the thought of seeing ANYTHING Trek ever again...and guess what?? William Shatner wrote the script! It was impossibly, horribly bad...MY vote as the worst of the 'Trek movies'. Okay, leapfrog with me if you will a few years and now we have Shatner attempting to write novels. I have avoided these books like the plague I was certain they were mostly because of how much I detested 'Trek V'...that is until a friend of mine recommended 'The Return' to me. I was happy to pick it up, but when I saw Shatner's name on it, I immediately started to give it back, but my friend insisted that I at least give it a try. I was suffering from 'can't find a decent-book-to-read syndrome' at the time and so gave it a shot. !!WOW!! Was I surprised or WHAT? Shatner has given us one of THE most entertaining Trek stories out there. Totally chock full of action and plot twists and in general all-out fun. Now I'll tell you WHY his Trek books are so good: He is CO-writing them with THE best Trek authors out there, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens'. Have you picked up 'Federation' yet? It is one of the ALL-TIME best Trek books ever written (along with their amazingly creative 'Prime Directive'). I'm sure the collaboration is what makes Shatner's novels actually good, but whoever is responsible for the WHY, I don't care, this is just one fun adventure to take. If Shatner IS responsible, kudos to him for a great story, if it's his co-authors I don't really care, as long as he continues to produce these great Trek stories. I would also recommend 'The Ashes of Eden' as well. It takes place in the Universe of the 'Trek of Old' with all the other major Trek characters, and is another winner of a story. All in all Shatner's Trek books stand nicely side-by-side with ANY other on the market. Peter David's 'Q Squared' is also one of THE most original stories out there as well.

I'll admit it: I'm a HUGE fan of Captain James T. Kirk. Along with Batman (Adam West) and Superman (George Reeve), Kirk filled my childhood television induced dreams and playtime with what it meant to be a hero. And a man.

And this book does the character justice. Lots of cool surprises await within, especially if you avoid some of the more elaborate reviews which spoil the plot. Read it cold if you can, althought that's some advice that might very well be far too late in its delivery.

If you're looking for intellectuality, or literary merit, this book doesn't have it. But if you'd gladly go see another Star Trek movie starring William Shatner as James Kirk, even if he's on the bridge of ship in his wheelchair, then this is as close as you're probably ever going to get.

And it's close enough for me.

I don't get the chance to read that often, however, I have been reading the Star Trek books that Shatner has written as they came out and eagerly anticipating the next. This one, Spectre, I was not able to pick up till last week and it was well worth the wait. There was a constant pace in the book that kept you turning pages. I like way he molds the Star Trek history consistantly together and refers back to episodes and movies from all 4 of the Star Trek series. It is true what someone had commented about,(the use of the TNG crew was little in the book) but that was how it fell in place. I don't think it was intentional,(to pull in those fans), it was smartly written. Fortunatly with my delay in buying this book I have the luxuary of going out this weekend and buying the next book. Dark Victory is going to have to be really good to top Spectre. The best book written so far in the Shatner series.

The fourth book in Shatner's "Star Trek" series is just as good as "The Ashes of Eden," and "The Return!" A story that is a sequel to the classic episode "Mirror, Mirror" (as well as the mirror-universe episodes on "Deep Space Nine") Even after Kirk has admitted that the federation doesn't need his help anymore, and that he may spend the rest of his life with his true love Teilani(a beautiful woman who's made him a better man in my opinion), deep down am inner part of him wants to be a hero once more! Although he's denied it to Teilani, she encourages him to back out into the universe again! Eventually, this leads to another encounter with the Mirror Universe Spock & Katherynn Janeway (the captain of "Star Trek: Voyager") who needs Kirk's help to straighten things out due to his first encounter! Soon, things go from bad to worse when Teilani is kidnapped, and Kirk must reunite Ambassador Spock, Admiral McCoy, and Scotty to get her back! Look for Captain Picard, and the "Next Generation" crew along for this adventure! Keep the adventures coming Bill Shatner!

I bought this book at the suggestion of the manager of the local bookstore to keep me occupied during an unwanted month-long trip to Poland. I normally don't read Star Trek novels, because Paramount doesn't recognize them as canon. That means that they never happened. They're basically authorized fan fiction. In fact, this is the first Star Trek novel that I've read all the way through. It's actually pretty good. In fact, I read so much of it at a time that I had nothing to do to relieve my boredom for the rest of the vacation. It's written by William Shatner. Who better to write a Captain Kirk story than James T. Kirk himself? This story is Kirk in his own words. It takes place between the end of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Kirk's apparent death in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations". Kirk joins a young woman on a journey to save her homeworld and, perhaps, recapture his youth and be young forever. Sure, we know that he won't be young again. Sure, we know that he'll survive the events of the novel. It's still fun and exciting to read, though. Don't let "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" fool you. Shatner can write. The only complaints that I have are a few typos and Shatner's writing style. He often omits the word "and" in compound sentences, and he often uses incomplete sentences lacking subjects. He also writes a lot of the characters' thoughts into the narrative itself, which is supposed to be neutral. It's as if the narrator knows what the characters are thinking and agrees with them. Other than these things, which you can get used to, it's a good book. Shatner even references events in numerous TOS episodes and all of the TOS movies except for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which really didn't need to be referenced anyway). The story is bookended with scenes of Spock, standing over Kirk's grave on Veridian III, thinking about his late friend. Some historical notes are contradicted, such as when phasers were invented ("Enterprise") and the time period of Cochrane's first warp flight ("Star Trek: First Contact"), by later canon material, but the main story itself can still fit into the canon. The ending sets up Shatner's next Star Trek novel, "The Return". Overall, "The Ashes of Eden" is a good story and worth your time to read. It IS James T. Kirk.

Starting with this book, Willam Shatner has proven how much he knows about and truly loves Star Trek and its characters. Along with the help of the Reeves-Stevens (They also deserve a high salute as well), Shatner adds some much needed depth to the cheap "death" of Kirk in Star Trek: Generations. He also takes care of some hanging continuity threads from the past movies as well. Gosh! Is it more than satisfying or what to finally see the resolution and evolution of some key questions and themes! The interesting thing here, while reading this, is that word has it Shatner proposed this story for the next Star Trek film. 6 was a great way to go out, but if they would have come back for one more, this would have been it. This story would have merited it, and I gurantee you everyone would have been leaving that theater with tears in their eyes and their fist in the air in victory. All sorts of juicy details are touched upon, including how and why The Genesis Project failed and more about David Marcus's death and everything else. I, too, had a little bit of a struggle seeing the young Teilani go after Kirk. I realize he IS Kirk, but come one, he is 60 years old now. (This is rectified in the following books in the series when Kirk is in the 24th century and Teilani is more his age) Whatever reputation Shatner may have, there is one thing no one should dispute: He knows and loves Star Trek like the back of his hand. It's too bad; as awesome as his books in this series have been, I wish he and Nimoy would take over the reign of control over the Star Trek franchise. I would DIE to see the saga Shatner had portrayed in these books on the big screen. For me, his books are what the movies used to be. Star Trek has become so cheapened, watered down, and politically correct, that when I finally ran across these books, I finally had REAL Star Trek again. Not some soap opera like what it has become. Go ahead: Compare these books to anything Star Trek in the past several years. The difference will make you weep. Here is the difference between love and the almighty dollar.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, William Shatner has written what I would proclaim as a piece of fine science fiction and Star Trek literature. The story begins with a great mysterious/emotional awe as it opens with Spock at the grave of his fallen friend James T. Kirk. Then, the story sky rockets as Mr. Spock recalls their last adventure in the final days of the beloved James Kirks life! The story starts with Kirk reliving a simulation on Tycho VI where he lost his girl friend and relives a challenging moment with arch-villian Androwar Drake. In the end Kirk awakes from a simulation and drags on his last day virtually hopeless until a new young lady enters his life. A half Romulan/Klingon hybrid she leads Kirk and virtually gives a desperate Kirk hungary for a last piece of action hope. Kirk's friends think he is crazy but Kirk does not listen. Instead he gets involved with the young women and leaves Starfleet to aide her in defense of her planet Chal. This young woman named Telani gives him the Enterprise after Kirk learns his arch-enemy Androwar Drake becomes the CiC of the Fleet and plans to blow the ship to dust. So, Kirk returns with the Enterprise and old friends Scott to the planet! But that is one half. Meanwhile Checkov and Uhura go on a mission to find out Klingon's are selling weapons of mass destruction. While there both Checkov and Uhura run into a rogue agent of Star Fleet Intell and get ditched and left to die until Captain Sulu rescues them. Then the crew goes to the new CiC and the old gang along with Spock and McCoy are assigned to hunt down Kirk! Well, in the end the two sides meet in epic battle that only the reader will have to find out! Shatner blows the fans away with a great book! Long life James T. Kirk!