From other reviews I had read, I had high hopes for "Delta Search." This book didn't meet those expectations at all. The story is contrived and overused, the characters are unrealistic and unattractive, and the ending was inane. This is what one gets when reading the pop culture junk that pervades our society. Please don't waste your time on this book like I did. There are plenty of other great books out there to be found. Now if you are looking for a good novel along a similar line with realistic characters and an engaging story line, I would recommend "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card instead.

Delta Search is the first novel in the Quest For Tomorrow series. This SF series for young adults is about a gene engineered child, James Endicott, who is being sought by Delta, both a man who is James' biological father and a shadowy government agency with an interstellar reach. Delta had caught his mother when he was an infant, but James was rescued by Carl, who was a friend of his mother and knows about the altered genetic coding.

In this novel, Jimmy lives with Carl and Tabitha on the Terran colony Wolfbane. On his sixteenth birthday, Jimmy is given a Stiron und Ritter .75 rocket pistol like Carl's and an adult permit to the training range. Jimmy presents his application to the Space Academy to Carl and Tabitha for their approval, but Carl tells him that he can never apply. He is still determined to gain admission to the Space Academy, so he transmits the application despite Carl's orders.

Later, Jimmy confesses his actions to Carl and is surprised at the reaction: Carl tells them to pack everything they need to leave the planet. He also tells Jimmy to wear his S&R .75 from now on. Carl does fill him in on part of the situation and Tabitha tells him more. Then the raiders hit their cabin.

This novel is more of an escape and evasion plot than anything else, but it is also the tale of James Endicott's coming of age. He now knows that he is being hunted relentlessly and later learns that the hunter is Delta. In his flight, he meets Cat Thibaudeaux, who takes him under her wing.

This novel was apparently written in collaboration with William T. Quick, who has also written Systems, a fairly interesting SF novel. This novel, however, does not have the complexity of Quick's other novels.

Recommended for young adults and anyone else who enjoys relatively simple plots in a SF setting.

I think this is a great book and William Shatner is a very good author. This is the first book i read that is by him, and i'm getting a good impression.... Can't wait till the next two come out.

Great book, but doesnt cut it for me so I give it the 4 *'s

Not much description here, but the first 5 tek war books were fun. Till they made the TV show, I sort of imagined a scruffy Bruce Willis, as in Fifth element as cardigan. But Greg Evigan was very acceptable as an affordable alternative. The surprise is what was included here. But i highly recommend the Tek War series written capably by shatner.

I'll give this to William Shatner, he does pull a surprise or two out of his hat at times. This started out as another normal Tek novel and I thought that it was going to be another semi-predictable yet still enjoyable story. But then he pulls a major event about a quarter of the way through the book that was hard to believe. For the rest of the book, I kept waiting for him to explain how what was done was not really the truth. I expected him to undo it. In fact I expected it so much that I never really believed it was real until I finished the novel. At that point, I believed it and was shocked. I was also pleased, pleased that he did not cheapen his plot nor did he patronize the readers. Good job! This is the fourth novel in the series.

This is the first Shatner book I read. I have read the first 5 and liked them all. I stopped reading them when I became obsessed with the new Star Wars expanded universe following Timothy Zahn's trilogy about the further adventures of Luke and friends. If you saw FIFTH ELEMENT I imaged that Shatner's Jake Cardigan was a futuristic scruffy, PI more like Bruce Willis than Stacey Keach. When the TV series started starring Greg Evigan I thought Evigan did a fine job.

Shatner and friends have done a great job creating this futuristic world where Tek theatens to do real harm to humanity. Cardigan, after spending years in a deep freeze coma prison is released and goes to work for a detective agency. The TV series followed the books fairly closely as Shatner was a big part of both, but the books had differences. Check these book out if you can find them. They are a fun read.

As soon as I started reading, I couldn't put this book down. It was everything I expected and more. I could picture all the events and the people while reading and that made it extra special. For anyone who enjoys science fiction this has to be on the list(at the top)! Once I started with this book,I did not like to put it down and the serial of TEKWAR books were a priority of mine to get and keep and reread. Jake Cardigan is one of my now favorite characters,thanks to William Shatner. I do hope to see more of these books in the future.

Tekwar is a great first novel. This book has everything, beautiful girls, killer androids, mind altering computer chips and lots of action.

Jake Cardigan is a cop who has been framed for dealing Tek, a mind altering computer chip, and sentenced to the "freezer" for 15 years. Cosmos, a private investgative firm has need of his services and gets him released after only 4 years. Things change a lot for Jake in four years. Jake has to venture to Mexico to find Dr. Kittridge and his daughter Beth who have been kidnapped by Tek drug lords for the anti-tek device they have developed.

This book is fast paced and an excellent read.

This novel is wonderful for what it tries to be. It isn't so much about a person, but about a person who gets thrown unwillingly into interglobal intrigue and is still able to keep on his toes. Wonderful and subtle humor, and interesting character motivations are only a few of the good things about this book. Read it for fun.

Many authors take a while to come into their own, and Star Trek's William Shatner has done it with a vengeance in Man O' War, the first of two Benton Hawkes novels. Hawkes, the novel's protagonist, is an ambassador sent to mediate a rather thorny dispute between Red Planet, Inc, owners of the colony on Mars, and the men and women employed as laborers there. Upon arriving, however, he finds that the men and women of the workforce are kept as virtual slaves, barely earning enough to survive while being worked to death in the underground caverns of the Martian colony. Having discovered beforehand that someone with a high-ranking position back on Earth has taken out a contract on his life, Hawkes then undertakes a second mission: to find out just who is behind the plot to assassinate him. What he uncovers has far-reaching consequences that will affect not only the Martian colony, but the Earth as well.

I have found Man O' War to be a very good book, and Shatner seems to have found his niche as a Sci-Fi author in writing it. It's fast-paced, exciting, and a cracking good adventure that will appeal to fans of the s/f genre as well as those who might just enjoy a good mystery now and again. I promise that anyone who picks up this tome will not be sorry they did.

Benton Hawkes is superb. I didn't think it was possible but Shatner out did Kirk with this wonderful charactor. I have read this book several times & will again. I have & will continue to recommend this book to my friends & others. The action scenes keep you on the edge of your seat, & just when you think you can relax, Shatner lets you have it again. It's like a dramatic piece of music. I listen to my vamped music, which is powerful, which intensifies the book all the more. Many thanks to Mr. Shatner for this & the rest of his books.

Then faint damnation must be praise. Although written with marginal competence (the arguments are often specious and/or circuitous), this attempted hatchet job at the (in)famous pop culture icon actually reveals an intelligent, thoughtful, and thoroughly (self)tormented individual who tried to be the next Olivier but happened to wind up as a national punchline instead. How must the man feel? That it is a question of any importance to me actually gives Captain Quirk some value, which it would not ordinarily achieve from either a journalistic or literary point of view.

This is a must for any Star Trek fan. It is a completely unauthorized biography of William Shatner, or "Captain Quirk," as the camera crew called him behind his back. Here are the elements of Shatner's career we've all been hearing about: the arrogance, the humanity, the overacting, the fine acting, the hairpiece. To be fair, William Shatner does not get to tell his side of the story, so this book has to be judged in that light. Yet only an unauthorized bio could have such pithy quotes from George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols and Jimmy Doohan about Shatner's line-stealing, scene-cutting, and personal abrasiveness. Another advantage of an unauthorized bio is it praises Shatner in ways a personal account might not have. Did you know that for his early stage work, one critic said Shatner would be the next Olivier? And how about that black and white movie in which Shatner spoke only in Esperanto, which stunned the critics? And, as the book points out, some of his Star Trek work is undeniably brilliant. All in all, this is a well-rounded biography, covering Shatner's early work, the Star Trek series, his down-on-his-luck times after the series, the Star Trek movies, and his more recent successes. This is all interwoven with his personal life, making for an interesting, if complicated, portrait.

This book takes the rose colored glasses off of any fan who thinks Shatner is a nice guy. In the recent director's commentary director Nick Myer commented how "protective" he is of his lines would confront the director with petty issues. I have come to believe that Shatner is a guy I'd get an autograph from ...but I would not like the guy in person. At a recent autograph session I read a story about one of his employees' being belittled by him because she was not moving the line of autograph seekers "fast enough" for him.

An important, groundbreaking book. After reading some of the reviews posted here, I almost didn't plunk down my hard-earned green for "Shatnerica," but I'm sure glad I did--the nay-sayers are all wet on this one.

There are apparently no taboos for this author. A pull-no-punches, take-no-prisoners look at the Man, "Shatnerica" hits the bullseye. Shnakenberg loses a star for some assertions of fact that this reader found of questionable lineage, but overall, a fascinating read.

CAVEAT: If you're looking for a read that handles Shatner with kid gloves; if your idolatry of all things Federation forbids the speaking of truth; if the man they call Kirk is your sacred cow; or if hard reality sometimes makes you cry, look elsewhere.

However, if you seek the light of truth, and can accept that ALL men have darker aspects to their nature, check this one out.

One question, Shnakenberg: when will we see "Nemoyica"!

Over the years (decades), William Shatner has grown from simply an arrogant actor on a 60's sci-fi show to something of a legendary pop-culture icon. We have all heard the stories of his feuds with co-stars, failed TV shows, unique musical 'talents', and THAT HAIR! Now, in one place, the Star Trek and William Shatner fan can find a reference to everything that is Shatner. His detractors will find everything they want as well. Mr. Schnakenberg does not pull punches with his A-to-Z chronicle of Shatner's life. He delves into the ugliness of his disputes with fellow actors (most notably, James Doohan... aka 'Scotty') and his notable difficulty in his personal life (on his third marriage at the time of this book's release and now currently on his fourth following the tragic death of his third wife). But, he is also fair in his depictions. He goes to great lenghts to show caring and respect that both Shatner and Leonard Nimoy have for each other despite years of tension on the Star Trek set. Not to mention exploring the positive value of his "Rescue 911" TV series. Of course, there are also many humorous moments that are documented. Shatner's foray into the music industry with 'interesting' "The Transformed Man" album (now a cult hit) is covered as is one of the funniest moments in Saturday Night Live history when Shatner, playing himself, tells the assorted weirdoes at a Star Trek convention to "get a life!". Simply a fun read from beginning to end, the "Encyclopedia Shatnerica" is an cool addition to any person's library.

From what the author said in one of the reviews; his publisher altered his original concept and manuscript. My solution would be to repackage and update it. Shatty's Priceline troubles will hurt him again because there are still complaints in the news about that company. I have to say after reading Shatnerica I have a very different view of Captain Kirk. He may have had some talent but his arrogance is all that's left. He might have been a great actor if he acted like a human being and not the "leading man" he never was. Except on Star Trek that is. How many of the cast would want to work with him again?

I'd still have to say the author still accomplished his goal. He showed the audience that Shatner has none of the heroic qualities of a Captain Kirk.

It may be that the first "Quest" book had a ghost writer, or maybe Shatner had to hurry through this. The segues are confusing and the characters have absolutely no depth. AND THIS FROM A SPACE OPERA FAN!! I'll return and read the third installment, but only out of respect for Shatner's other work.

A good light read. I emphized with Jim, but it seemed a little to contrived and drawn out - with everything a little too artifical. Slightly confusing in parts, I would borrow it from the library but not but it myself

I enjoyed the plot. It had a few poor transitions between events but if you look past them the story flows well.

When I read the original "Tekwar" a seemingly impossibly long time ago, I was instantly drawn in to the high tech world that my boyhood hero had created. The hardware was sleek, the action was merciless, and the end of each page dared you not to turn to the next. Almost ten years later, not much has changed for Jake Cardigan and company. Jake's still the tough, angst ridden private eye with a heart of gold. Gomez is still a wise cracking charmer, and both manage to get themselves in ridiculous amounts of trouble in the course of the story, only to tap dance their way out of it by the end, which almost always falls around 250 pages. Like the rest, Teknet's story is told with rare style and wit, but the Tek "cast" doesn't ever really change. But, with a "Tek" book, you're not looking for a character study, just a fast paced thrill ride. Teknet delivers on that.The main problem is that this, being the last of a series of books that has soaked up an entire decade, gives no real sense of closure to the series. At the end, things are pretty much the way they started, and the boys still seem poised to take Bascm's next call. A more proper send off would have been more satisfying.

The tek books actually surprised me - they're very entertaining. I expected a hack job, but they move very quickly and have non-stop action. No paragraph is longer than 3 sentences, so they're great to read after a long day to unwind before bed. Pure, futuristic fantasy that manages to keep you interested and moving right along. These books are sprinkled with Tek-isms and future slang that can make you chuckle to yourself. Shatner obviously had a lot of fun writing this series. I, for one, was pleasantly impressed with our beloved Captain Kirk.