Scan barcode
djwudi's review
3.0
The final and best of this YA series. The main trio finally end up all adventuring together, as a simple shuttle hop gets sidetracked by mercenaries. Overall, while all of the books have a certain amount of overly-convenient happenstance to get the characters together, they’re a quick entertaining read as one “what if?” version of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s Academy days.
A note on the illustrations: Oddly, it kind of felt like the illustrator just skimmed the plot, if that, particularly with this book. Much of the action takes place aboard a shuttle, clearly described as an early version of the TOS “box on two cylinders” shuttlecraft, but the cover and one of the interior illustrations shows a more angular, TMP-style shuttle with warp sled (but the sled is outfitted with the cylindrical TOS nacelles rather than the flatter TMP style). And towards the end, a character described in the text as human (at least in appearance) is drawn as a TOS-style Klingon, complete with gold sash. Odd mistakes to make (and while the target audience for these books might not notice these things, they do stand out to me).
A note on the illustrations: Oddly, it kind of felt like the illustrator just skimmed the plot, if that, particularly with this book. Much of the action takes place aboard a shuttle, clearly described as an early version of the TOS “box on two cylinders” shuttlecraft, but the cover and one of the interior illustrations shows a more angular, TMP-style shuttle with warp sled (but the sled is outfitted with the cylindrical TOS nacelles rather than the flatter TMP style). And towards the end, a character described in the text as human (at least in appearance) is drawn as a TOS-style Klingon, complete with gold sash. Odd mistakes to make (and while the target audience for these books might not notice these things, they do stand out to me).
rj_readsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Reading the negative reviews for Cadet Kirk was so funny because everything bad about this book is why I loved it. The writing is over the top, the plot makes no sense, and the characterizations are only tangentially related to TOS canon. In that way it’s exactly like every TOS episode. 10/10 no notes this book was perfect and I enjoyed every second of it. Please donate to my fund to buy every middle grade (??) vintage Star Trek book.
angel859's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
esperata's review
5.0
This isn't about the Captain, Doctor and First Officer, this is about the Ensign, Cadet and Medic. Its great to see the start of their relationship, the first steps that'll lead them to become the people we know. Its their character interaction rather than the plot that's important here although the plot is undoubtedly good. Fans should enjoy it.
More...