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deranged_pegasus's review
5.0
A wonderful read. I loved the characterization of the young Spock and Kirk. Especially the background interactions between Lady Amanda and Sarek.
yamoksauce's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
littlebitofe's review
4.0
I'll be honest and admit I picked up this book because of the characters had the same first name as I do. Silly, I know. I do like Star Trek though, just not usually the orginal characters. It was interesting to read this shortly after seeing the Star Trek movie with the alternate view on Kirk and Spock first meeting. I kept picturing Chris Pine and Zach Quinto in the roles. Very different from the movie, of course, but the story was still very good. I was slow to get into it, but in the end, couldn't put it down.
sarcasmsign's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ryanjamesburt's review
4.0
I liked this book. Spock is 19 and Kirk is 17. Talks about when they first meet. Quite entertaining but maybe more because I like Kirk and Spock then just the writing of this book.
amiry's review
4.0
I really only had two problems with this book. One, Kirk and Spock meeting before entering the Academy is probably incorrect, but enjoyable. Two, Kirk's nickname for Spock - Stretch - while cute, has never been used by him anywhere else. Aside from that, I enjoyed the book. A lot. :)
gannent's review
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Perfectly decent adventure story. Like the delving into Tarsus IV part of Kirk’s backstory. However, I really disliked how strictly they modeled Starfleet off the navy. The drill instructor scenes left a bad taste, certainly doesn’t seem how an “enlightened future” service should operate.
taaya's review
3.0
To me this wasn't Trek.
Both Kirk and Spock were way out of character - Kirk mostly in a way that reminded of the reboot, behaving like a jerk.
Starfleet, though not really a military organization, looked like the worst army in the world, with methods that are frowned upon even now - and a no fraternization rule that is clearly non-canon as both Chekov and Kirk had romances with other cadets according to the Original Series.
And the plot was more a political thriller with dashes of espionage novel and crime, not really a SciFi.
But putting all that aside and ignoring that it has NOTHING to do with the Star Trek one loves, it's actually not a bad read. Never boring and nicely written. Just not Trek.
Both Kirk and Spock were way out of character - Kirk mostly in a way that reminded of the reboot, behaving like a jerk.
Starfleet, though not really a military organization, looked like the worst army in the world, with methods that are frowned upon even now - and a no fraternization rule that is clearly non-canon as both Chekov and Kirk had romances with other cadets according to the Original Series.
And the plot was more a political thriller with dashes of espionage novel and crime, not really a SciFi.
But putting all that aside and ignoring that it has NOTHING to do with the Star Trek one loves, it's actually not a bad read. Never boring and nicely written. Just not Trek.
alexh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Genocide
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Animal death
The book deals in flashbacks with the events on Tarsus IV from “The Conscience of the King”, so there are depictions of a genocide, including unambiguous depiction of children dying. There are also depictions of child soldiers throughout the book. The warning for animal death refers to a character’s fish being deliberately killed by an antagonist.