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brooklyn1's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Love it! I have not seen the movie (but I have seen the series) so I cannot compare, but I honestly couldn't tell it was based on a screenplay. It read like a regular novel and it was a lot of fun to read. I really liked Saavik, and I like how much we got to learn about her. I also thought the author was able to deliver on all the emotional beats around the midpoint to end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
lefthandedmatt's review against another edition
4.0
I have a soft spot for film novelisations, as they were most likely the things that made me fall in love with books in the first place when I was a kid. But I also recognise the inherent low quality of many of them.
This is one of the good ones. It appears to be based on an early version of the screenplay and sticks to that fairly closely, but it also adds and expands upon it with quite a bit of new material which is very welcome. The result is an alternate version of the movie with more depth and more swearing (and the swears actually work very well).
The biggest addition is the expansion of Saavik's character and the reveal of her background as half Romulan. It's fascinating stuff and really gives her a lot more to work with as she attempts to establish relationships with those around her.
The book falters in that it doesn't quite deliver the emotional punch the film has, except for the events at the very end which it handles well. But most of the lines of dialogue which really hit home in the film fall a bit flat here, and some are altered to the point where they just don't work as well.
This is one of the good ones. It appears to be based on an early version of the screenplay and sticks to that fairly closely, but it also adds and expands upon it with quite a bit of new material which is very welcome. The result is an alternate version of the movie with more depth and more swearing (and the swears actually work very well).
The biggest addition is the expansion of Saavik's character and the reveal of her background as half Romulan. It's fascinating stuff and really gives her a lot more to work with as she attempts to establish relationships with those around her.
The book falters in that it doesn't quite deliver the emotional punch the film has, except for the events at the very end which it handles well. But most of the lines of dialogue which really hit home in the film fall a bit flat here, and some are altered to the point where they just don't work as well.
djwudi's review against another edition
4.0
(This review applies equally to [b:Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan|77349|Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (Star Trek)|Vonda N. McIntyre|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170900096s/77349.jpg|74749], [b:Star Trek III The Search for Spock|76725|Star Trek III The Search for Spock (Star Trek #17)|Vonda N. McIntyre|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170899647s/76725.jpg|1529686], and [b:Star Trek IV The Voyage Home|1078437|Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (Star Trek)|Vonda N. McIntyre|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180802754s/1078437.jpg|824875].)
In a move that (if I remember correctly) was rather unusual for the time, the Star Trek franchise created three films that were direct sequels: each stands alone as its own story, but they also comprise three parts of one overarching story, with all the events taking place over the course of just a few months.
In a wonderful turn of events, author [a:Vonda N. McIntyre|23503|Vonda N. McIntyre|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1223870851p2/23503.jpg] handled the novelization of each of the three films, and did a masterful job of adapting each one, creating a whole at least as good as the sum of its parts. Diving deeply into not just the events of the films, but the motivations and repercussions for the characters and the universe as a whole in each book, McIntyre's novels stand as a model of what successful movie-to-film adaptations should be, and all too often aren't.
In a move that (if I remember correctly) was rather unusual for the time, the Star Trek franchise created three films that were direct sequels: each stands alone as its own story, but they also comprise three parts of one overarching story, with all the events taking place over the course of just a few months.
In a wonderful turn of events, author [a:Vonda N. McIntyre|23503|Vonda N. McIntyre|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1223870851p2/23503.jpg] handled the novelization of each of the three films, and did a masterful job of adapting each one, creating a whole at least as good as the sum of its parts. Diving deeply into not just the events of the films, but the motivations and repercussions for the characters and the universe as a whole in each book, McIntyre's novels stand as a model of what successful movie-to-film adaptations should be, and all too often aren't.
parrotheadpress's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly, it's more of a 3.5 but for nostalgia's sake, I'll round up.
I'm not a big fan of the author's style of writing. She's rather awkward at times and struggles with sentence flow. But this book is a wonderful companion to an amazing movie. There are some beautiful moments in there, and I appreciate being able to delve deeper into characters and situations than a film can allow.
And yes, I cried. I don't want to imagine a world where someone DOESN'T cry during "The Wrath of Khan."
I'm not a big fan of the author's style of writing. She's rather awkward at times and struggles with sentence flow. But this book is a wonderful companion to an amazing movie. There are some beautiful moments in there, and I appreciate being able to delve deeper into characters and situations than a film can allow.
And yes, I cried. I don't want to imagine a world where someone DOESN'T cry during "The Wrath of Khan."
octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
Far and away the best of the Star Trek movies, the novelisation of The Wrath of Khan is also one of the better of the Star Trek books. The movie remains the better story, I think, and most of that is down to performance. McIntyre's version of the last scene with Spock, and with the funeral, is affecting, but not to the extent of the film, and there's some disadvantage to individual characters from the change in medium. Take Kahn, for instance. His book portrayal is a little thin - almost cartoon evil, with no redeeming feature or complexity. Technically he's not that much different in the movie, but the sheer charisma of the actor makes up for that in a way that doesn't translate to the page. On the other hand, I really enjoyed what the author did with Saavik, and the bits of backstory were genuinely fascinating - she's a character I want to read more of now. All in all, though, this is an excellent adaptation.
toastx2's review against another edition
5.0
The movie Wrath of Khan has been ruined forever. All hail the Wrath of Khan (book)! Let me explain, because Vonda McIntyre owned this.
For father's day, I do not require much. Give me a hot meal, a warm cuddle, and a chilly blanket covered viewing of StarTrek: The Wrath of Khan. Family time at it's best. Unfortunately, this year my children are of an age where this movie would cause undue stress. Earworms, explosions, blind revenge and blood really dont jive too well with toddlers, so it is on pause for a couple years. We watched The Voyage Home instead, yes, the awesome time travel whale movie.
Why are you reading this?
The Lack of Khan meant my wonderful wife felt concern that my father's day would be lackluster. She searched out and located me a copy of the 1982 paperback edition Wrath of Khan. Giddy and sweaty palmed, I jigged in my seat when I opened my gift from her.
Also included was a hardback copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I can discuss that at a later date.
This geeky film will never be the same. The story of Wrath of Khan is no secret. Dumbed down- On Federation/Civilian research mission to a dead planet, Khan Noonien Singh is found, crazed and vengeful. He plots to find and punish James T Kirk, who he blames for the death of his wife and followers. In the process, he captures a starship and a device which can reorganize the structure of matter, destroying whatever previously existed and rebuilding habitable worlds from the blocks.
Kirk is in a fight to save his inexperienced trainee crew, while protecting innocent lives from the damage a deranged madman can wreck.
It has been thirty years since this movie and it's novelization were released. The geek in me picked out several elements requiring highlight.
First and most verbosely- In reading this, the Wrath if Khan has NOTHING to do with Khan or Kirk. Some aspects of this are displayed on the movie, but nowhere to the depth the novelization took it. This novel is about Savvik.
Savvik's backstory in the movies is rediculously thin. She is 'just' a Vulcan cadet on the path to becoming an officer. She 'just' questions human behavior and is 'just' under the tutelage of Spock. In the novelization, 'just' is a description which can never be.
Separate yourself from what you know from the film. The Wrath of Khan easily becomes Savvik's story. Born of a forbidden and potentially disturbing relationship between a Vulcan and a Romulan, she was orphaned and abandoned on a planet with all the other halflings. Spock, on a research mission, finds her feral and removed. He brings her back to society and treats her as an equal, almost like a daughter. She has warring genetics and culture, she has a desire for logic and an emotional flame that wants to burn the entire universe. It is Spock's assistance and training which allow her to control herself.
The story revolves entirely around her actions and reactions to her environment, people she meets, internal warring, and ultimately grief.
Having read this, Khan becomes irrelevant. He is a tool to harness a greater storyline. It is disappointing that Savvik in film is relegateted to the role of trainee and nothing more. In the follow up film, she takes on the role of mother and lover. Nothing literally nothing to the level of required character definition that she deserves based on this novelization. In film she exists as a plot tool to move action or set Kirk up for his lines.
Though not all perspectives were hers, hers were the most relevant and genuine feeling. STARTREK REBOOTers: pay attention to Savvik! She is more than she was allowed to be!
Second point- Wonderful backstory and characters fleshed out for scientists on the Genesis research station. Who are they? How did their roles lead them to being tortured to death in the name of Genesis.
Third- Through the same scientists, it is introduced that the building blocks of all matter are five subcomponents of quarks. In the novel they are named after the five elements of a Lewis Carrol poem. The timing of this reading could not be more properly timed. Only ten days before I began reading this, the Large Hadron Collider was able to prove PentaQuarks.. I was reading poetic references to the very same elements that we now are proud to have proven.
Fourth and lastly- Apparently a 50MB hard drive must be stored in a liquid nitrogen based cooling system in order to handle the data loads that Genesis algorythms require. Likewise reproggramming something would require OCR feeds of raw paper printouts, which would need mass QA to remove optical character recognition errors. To quote Sulu, "Oh, My!".
This book was amazing. Go find it nerds. It is worth shelling some bucks out for it.
For father's day, I do not require much. Give me a hot meal, a warm cuddle, and a chilly blanket covered viewing of StarTrek: The Wrath of Khan. Family time at it's best. Unfortunately, this year my children are of an age where this movie would cause undue stress. Earworms, explosions, blind revenge and blood really dont jive too well with toddlers, so it is on pause for a couple years. We watched The Voyage Home instead, yes, the awesome time travel whale movie.
Why are you reading this?
The Lack of Khan meant my wonderful wife felt concern that my father's day would be lackluster. She searched out and located me a copy of the 1982 paperback edition Wrath of Khan. Giddy and sweaty palmed, I jigged in my seat when I opened my gift from her.
Also included was a hardback copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I can discuss that at a later date.
This geeky film will never be the same. The story of Wrath of Khan is no secret. Dumbed down- On Federation/Civilian research mission to a dead planet, Khan Noonien Singh is found, crazed and vengeful. He plots to find and punish James T Kirk, who he blames for the death of his wife and followers. In the process, he captures a starship and a device which can reorganize the structure of matter, destroying whatever previously existed and rebuilding habitable worlds from the blocks.
Kirk is in a fight to save his inexperienced trainee crew, while protecting innocent lives from the damage a deranged madman can wreck.
It has been thirty years since this movie and it's novelization were released. The geek in me picked out several elements requiring highlight.
First and most verbosely- In reading this, the Wrath if Khan has NOTHING to do with Khan or Kirk. Some aspects of this are displayed on the movie, but nowhere to the depth the novelization took it. This novel is about Savvik.
Savvik's backstory in the movies is rediculously thin. She is 'just' a Vulcan cadet on the path to becoming an officer. She 'just' questions human behavior and is 'just' under the tutelage of Spock. In the novelization, 'just' is a description which can never be.
Separate yourself from what you know from the film. The Wrath of Khan easily becomes Savvik's story. Born of a forbidden and potentially disturbing relationship between a Vulcan and a Romulan, she was orphaned and abandoned on a planet with all the other halflings. Spock, on a research mission, finds her feral and removed. He brings her back to society and treats her as an equal, almost like a daughter. She has warring genetics and culture, she has a desire for logic and an emotional flame that wants to burn the entire universe. It is Spock's assistance and training which allow her to control herself.
The story revolves entirely around her actions and reactions to her environment, people she meets, internal warring, and ultimately grief.
Having read this, Khan becomes irrelevant. He is a tool to harness a greater storyline. It is disappointing that Savvik in film is relegateted to the role of trainee and nothing more. In the follow up film, she takes on the role of mother and lover. Nothing literally nothing to the level of required character definition that she deserves based on this novelization. In film she exists as a plot tool to move action or set Kirk up for his lines.
Though not all perspectives were hers, hers were the most relevant and genuine feeling. STARTREK REBOOTers: pay attention to Savvik! She is more than she was allowed to be!
Second point- Wonderful backstory and characters fleshed out for scientists on the Genesis research station. Who are they? How did their roles lead them to being tortured to death in the name of Genesis.
Third- Through the same scientists, it is introduced that the building blocks of all matter are five subcomponents of quarks. In the novel they are named after the five elements of a Lewis Carrol poem. The timing of this reading could not be more properly timed. Only ten days before I began reading this, the Large Hadron Collider was able to prove PentaQuarks.. I was reading poetic references to the very same elements that we now are proud to have proven.
Fourth and lastly- Apparently a 50MB hard drive must be stored in a liquid nitrogen based cooling system in order to handle the data loads that Genesis algorythms require. Likewise reproggramming something would require OCR feeds of raw paper printouts, which would need mass QA to remove optical character recognition errors. To quote Sulu, "Oh, My!".
This book was amazing. Go find it nerds. It is worth shelling some bucks out for it.
reeshadovahsil's review
5.0
An excellent novelization of the film. I truly enjoyed all the extra little bits and pieces that were written into the novel, the greatly improved characterization and backstory for Saavik in particular. Really well done.
bookwomble's review
4.0
Having watched the movie more times than I can count did not detract from my enjoyment when reading the book. Vonda McIntyre does a good job of bringing the film into print. Obviously, it helps that I've got a very clear image of everything she's describing. I'm guessing she expected that, so rather than go into lots of "world-building" detail, she fills in some background with Saavik's early years and describes Khan's "questioning" of the Genesis team on Regulus I Spacelab.
An enjoyable romp, and quite an emotional one if you have any investment in the Star Trek characters.
An enjoyable romp, and quite an emotional one if you have any investment in the Star Trek characters.