Planet of Judgment

Star Trek Adventures #5

by Joe Haldeman

NEVER BEFORE.....Had the Enterprise been betrayed by its own technology. Never before had their systems, instruments and weapons failed to respond. And never before had Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew faced a total breakdown of science and sanity....until they stumbled on the mysterious world that couldn't exists....A world orbited by a black hole and ruled by chaos -- where man was a helpless plaything for a race of beings more powerful than the laws of the universe.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Ebooks, Star Trek Original Series, Science Fiction Fantasy

151 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1977

About the author

Brother of Jack C. Haldeman II

Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."

Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ATTENTION: Star Trek haters and/or book snobby types...if you've stumbled onto this review looking for a lambasting, tirade-filled rant-o-rama, than you'll want to back up, flip a Uey and hush puppy on outta here because that isn't on the menu. Joe Haldeman,SF master, has spread his skill at smooth, satisfying story scribing all over the Star Trek universe and I'm just beaming with happy. Haldeman once again proves that when you take a beloved spacey playground (Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.) with truly iconic characters…and add an author who can ACTUALLY write, you can certainly produce an entertaining and high quality story filled with readability.

You did it right, Joe.

You did it right and you did it uniquely. In fact, before I even describe the plot, I want to take a moment and give special recognition to Mr. Haldeman for including at least 4 things in this story that I have not seen in Star Trek before:

One: A member of the always expendable security detachment has his face ripped the fuck off…yes, that is correct Treksters. We had a full on facial flensing courtesy of Joey “cool” Haldeman.

Two: Not only that, but JH also gave us “expendable security officer #2” having his grill completely wiped away like he was some kind of human etch a sketch. No eyes, nose, lips...nothing. Smooth as a baby's butt sans crack.

Three: Moving right along, probably the biggest shocker to me was that Joe “boundaries are for wimps” Haldeman included in the back story of one of the female scientists that she had an abortion earlier in life because having a child at that time would have prevented her from joining Starfleet. Regardless of how you may feel about the topic, hats off Joe for having the melons to include it in a ST story.

Four: One word…genitalia. Let me explain this last one as I know it may not seem like a praise worthy accomplishment. You see, despite how green hooker crazy Kirk was portrayed as being in the original series, somehow I was still left with the general perception that SEX just wasn’t on the menu. The mere idea that members of the Enterprise crew had weewees and hoohoos just didn’t seem to fit within my picture of the Federation. Well Dr. Joe distributed sacks of naughty bits and inner plumbing to the crew and made the Enterprise anatomically correct.

Okay, trailblazing kudos are done, so let’s talk plot because it is a good one.

PLOT SUMMARY:

So the Trek Triplets (i.e., Kirk, Spock and Bones) are on a routine mission to Star Fleet Academy when they discover a rogue, Earth-type planet, orbiting what appears to be a pea-sized star. This leads all the science types on the Enterprise to scream WTF because this shit…just….can’t ….happen.

Assuming Pea Star is artificial in origin and given the inability to investigate it, several landing parties are dispatched to Planet Anomaly (so named by Spock in his eminent practicality). Upon landing, they find themselves on the run screaming end of all kinds of big, mean nasties (leading to kudos 1 and 2 mentioned above). Even worse, all of their Star Treknology isn't working and they are unable to get off this Harry Harrison like Deathworld. And to add the final piece of the problem puzzle, it seems the laws of physics have decided to go on strike leaving the situation on the planet well and truly FUBUR.

Thus, stranded on planet FUGLY with several crewman dead and faceless, the Trek Triplets must solve the riddle of Anomaly. Now I don’t want to give up the goods about that mystery other than to say it will have ramifications that could affect the very future of the Federation (cue serious drama drumbeat).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is a very good SF story. The fact that it is set in the Star trek universe merely allows Haldeman to streamline the back story into only what is necessary for the plot. This allows him to focus on telling the tale. This he does very well. I really enjoyed this and am more than a little bummed that Joe didn’t write a lot more Star Trek. Still, I'm very pleased that he wrote this and am looking forward to reading his other Star Trek effort, World Without End.

If you were looking to test the Star Trek waters, you could do a lot worse than this little gem.

A solid 4.0 stars and…..Thank you, Mr. Haldeman!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Planet of Judgment was written in 1977 before the Star Trek novelizations took off and became their own industry. This was the fifth in the fledgling Star Trek Adventures series; it is really a 150-page novelette revolving around the original series crew. Still and all, Joe Haldeman is a dyed in the wool Science Fiction writer. This is a master that does not require a ton of verbiage to fascinate and intrigue. Here the crew find a spatial anomaly. . . (I know you think you have heard this story before, but no you have not.) The anomaly is that there is an M class planet (earth-like) orbiting a star the size of a pea. A landing party is sent down and when it fails to report back at an agreed-upon time, the intrigue mounts. There is suspense and real horror here with dangerous elements prevalent. Star Trek fans are usually treated to an anesthetized violence. That is not what we get here. This is some serious stuff. A high recommend from me. Be prepared for some highly distinct descriptions of gore and violence. My only complaint is that I wanted more.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first of a pair of Star Trek novels that Haldeman wrote. It was published way back in the day when TOS wasn't a thing because there was just the one, and before Pocket became the purveyor of all things Trek, and in fact was only the fifth Trek novel to appear, which is quite a thing when you consider how many hundreds and hundreds there are now. It's a quick read and is quite fun except for a mildly annoying conclusion. I thought he did a good job of producing a Star Trek book rather than a Joe Haldeman novel, if you catch my drift... Set your phasers on read...

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

By my reckoning this is the fifth original Star Trek novel published. The four that precede it are as follows:
1) Mission to Horatius, Mack Reynolds, illus. by Sparky Moore, 1968
2) Spock Must Die!, James Blish, February 1970
3) Spock, Messiah!, Theodore Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr., September 1976
4) The Price of the Phoenix, Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath, July 1977
and then Planet of Judgment, Joe Haldeman, August 1977.

At first I was excited by the prospect of this book. Joe Haldeman won awards in the mid-1970s for his Forever War, an early military science fiction trailblazer novel. I knew this book had not won him accolades, but seriously, how bad can it be? The answer: atrocious. I am truly astonished at how bad this novel was.

At a Dragon Con panel some years back I posed Kevin Anderson primarily, but the rest of the panel (Peter David was on it too, I believe) the following question: when you write for a series with established characters as in Star Wars or Star Trek, the characters aren't your own invention, you have all these limits on you regarding what you can do with the characters, how hard do you try to write your best story?

Kevin's answer (paraphrased from my memory): "I love the created world and the characters, else I wouldn't be writing a book in that series. I want to do that world and those characters justice. Besides, my name is on the cover. The quality of what goes in the book matters to me no matter what I write. I don't try any less hard to produce my best work just because I am writing in a franchise." There were general comments of agreement and confirmation that this was the case around the panel.

I therefore would suspect Joe Haldeman feels the same way. When I started this book and about two thirds of the way through I was seeing evidence this was the case. Haldeman was writing an excellent novel! How could so many other reviewers be putting it down? The characters were being written in a way that was true to the series. There was even in-depth background to their characters that went beyond the series, but that was entirely consistent with it. The dilemma the crew faced was compelling, interesting, and challenging. There were even clever plot twists with the antagonists communication with Star Fleet.

I was all excited and looking forward to an exciting conclusion when all of a sudden something went horribly wrong. At about page 127 and for the last 24 pages of the book, the writing is a huge letdown. It's as if Haldeman hit an impasse and put the manuscript away for several months, planning to come back to it when he could figure out a satisfactory conclusion. He then maybe got involved in another writing project and then his editors got back to him and asked where that Star Trek book was.

Haldeman with no enthusiasm pulled the manuscript back out, I imagine, and decided he had to just slap some ending on it, send it off to the publishers, and be done with it. The 24 pages he slapped on the end ruined what promised to be a really good Star Trek story. Everything is different in the last 24 pages. Even the writing style is unrecognizable. The entire book until this point had been written in standard third person omniscient past tense. All of a sudden the tense shifts intermittently at random to half past and half present tense. All kinds of important details are left out such as where the bodies are when fantasy scenarios play out, what's really at stake, and who benefits from the Star Trek crew winning and how. The ending is a complete mess stylewise and plotwise.

It brings the entire book down from a 4 (really liked it) to a 2 (it was okay). Shame on Mr. Haldeman for failing to end this book in the manner it deserved!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can understand why a lot of people enjoyed this: it's reasonably well-written, it's surprisingly ambitious for a 150-page TV tie-in, and it feels well-grounded in the original show. Unfortunately, despite these positives, Joe Haldeman's slipshod, make-it-up-as-you-go plotting results in a story that, short as it is, still comes across as 80% filler.
For example, in the book's opening chapters, we are introduced to a trio of seemingly important new characters who have formed their own middle-aged love triangle. (Later, Dr. McCoy will also throw his hat into the ring, turning it into a love quadrangle.) In addition, we are introduced to Planet Anomaly, which is mysteriously sustained by an artificial, pea-sized black hole that functions as a miniature sun. All of this is fun and interesting, but what does it ultimately lead to? Well, the new characters mostly walk around with nothing to do, before eventually fading out of the story entirely. Their presence never contributes anything meaningful, nor is the romantic quadrangle ever really explored, let alone resolved. The mysterious black hole remains a mystery indefinitely, because it is never referred to again. So, what do these opening chapters accomplish? I would say nothing apart from muddying up the narrative.
Kirk and his away team take a shuttle down to the planet's surface, which they quickly discover is populated with monstrous creatures straight out of an alien version of THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT. To their dismay, the shuttle's electronics are no longer working, and so they must attempt to set up shelter and live off the land until they can be rescued. For several chapters, the book continues in the vein of Harry Harrison's DEATHWORLD, as the Enterprise crew use their high-tech tools to fashion a rudimentary military encampment for defending against the nightmarish intruders.
Again, all this is fun but ultimately rather pointless. You see, the Enterprise crew then comes into contact with an alien race called the Arvine, who are in possession of incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. Using these powers, they are able to complete the encampment in a matter of seconds, eliminating the threat of the nightmare creatures for the entire remainder of the novel. In fact, no such creature is ever heard from again. The Arvine's powers are so great that everything the Enterprise crew does for the rest of the story is sort of irrelevant, since they are completely at the Arvine's mercy.
The Arvine begin conducting tests on certain members of the crew--tests that force them to re-live some of their most difficult memories. Interestingly, we get a scene depicting the moment when McCoy's wife and daughter walk out on him for good, freeing him to sign up for service aboard the Enterprise. We also get a bizarre scene in which he is literally stabbed in the back while partying on shore leave. But even more bizarre is the inclusion of a long passage from James Blish's novelization of the episode "Amok Time." This may be the first novel I've ever read that recycles a long scene from another novel written by a completely different author.
Meanwhile, as Spock and McCoy are re-living painful memories, Kirk is magically transported back to the Enterprise, which was in the process of speeding to Starfleet Academy for help. Kirk decides to turn the ship around and go back to Planet Anomaly. He experiences some difficulty along the way, but the Arvine take care of it, and soon everyone is right back where they were several chapters ago. Talk about great plotting!
The Enterprise crew discover that the reason they are being tested is because the Arvine need data on the behavioral responses of unenlightened creatures in order to decide how to deal with the Irapina, a race of beings even MORE powerful then the Arvine and bent on conquering the universe. The plot then devolves into a bunch of literal "mind games," in which Kirk and Spock engage Irapina representatives on a metaphysical plane in hopes of tricking them into believing that humans are too powerful a race to be easily conquered right at this moment. Kirk and Spock accomplish their goal, delaying an Irapina attack on the Federation by anywhere from 100-1,000 years and instead sending them off in the direction of the Romulan Empire.
First of all, these mind battles are really pointless and silly, despite being well-written. Since the winner is whoever has the most confidence (and not who is the most skilled at any particular thing), I'm not sure why we have to go through the rigmarole of imagined naval battles, sword fights, etc. Then there's the problem with the Irapina themselves: They are WAY too big and imminent a threat to simply vanish from Star Trek mythology altogether once this novel is over. Too bad the Borg hadn't been conceived of yet, because having them as the villains would have made a ton more sense.
Like the majority of these 1970's-era "Star Trek Adventures" from Bantam, PLANET OF JUDGMENT feels poorly thought-out, non-canonical to the nth degree, and almost experimental in its narrative execution. There are even a couple sections written in stream-of-consciousness, which feels about as out of place in a STAR TREK novel as you can get. Joe Haldeman is clearly a more gifted and experienced author than many who were writing STAR TREK at this time, so the book at least manages to avoid that fan-fiction vibe we got from dreck like THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX. But, alas, that isn't enough to make it good.

[Ute · Rating 1 out of 5]

A strange book. I don't think Haldeman was very comfortable writing within the ST framework. The characters seem barely developed, although we should know much about them. But what we know isn't really used, or at least not the way I would expect. The story goes from plotpoint to plotpoint, and there are some clichees about the characters thrown in, but they never feel like "my" crew. Feels more like fragments of a story written for different characters, a handfull of ideas that were crafted onto some cut-out versions of the Enterprise's Crew. Thinking of Haldeman's other works, this is really not up to his standard. Not even the story is worth much. A bit of Charly X, a bit of the Companion, some Dinosaurs thrown in for good measure. Very ... I don't know.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic tale from a classic author. I do not believe this one is on Kindle, but get the paperback if you can. A 151 page tale that holds up well to those of us accustomed to Star Trek TNG. Regardless, I recommend this tale!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

While transporting an esteemed Starfleet scientist to his new posting, the U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a situation seemingly in defiance of the laws of science: an M-class planet orbited by a tiny black hole. As the crew proceeds to investigate the implausibilities of the new planet quickly mount: teleporting down to the planet via transporter is impossible, shuttlecraft no longer function after landing, and phasers can be used to stun the aggressive fauna but will not function when set to kill. Soon the crew of the Enterprise encounter the reason for the mystery — and in the process discover a threat to the existence of the entire Federation.

Regarded today as one of the giants of the genre, Joe Haldeman was just beginning his career as a science fiction author when he was approached by Bantam to write for their series of Star Trek novels in the 1970s. This, the first of two he would write, demonstrates all of his skills as an author: gripping action, interesting scientific ideas, and a plot that engages the reader throughout its length. Like many an episode what starts as a puzzle becomes a problem, then a challenge that threatens like lives of the Enterprise crew. Though Haldeman incorporates a trope from the original series, his employment in it is done in a way that is both fresh and with real consequences for the story. All of this makes for a delightful novel that shows the possibilities inherent in the series in the hands of a true master of the craft.

[Clint Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hungry for more fun adventures with the old crew, I picked this book up because it was a recommendation on some website I was led to after searching for good Star Trek books.

I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong -- the story was interesting and there was some fun action. The characters, however, didn't read like the characters I know and love. Also, there was an excess of violence. Now, I loves me some violence, but it just didn't feel like what I was expecting in a Star Trek story.

I have done many searches through many a website to try to find some adventures like the ones I grew up with, so this will not be my last review of a Star Trek book. But it is my first.

[Thom · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting situation, a too-strong villain, impossibilities with physics and dumb choices by the crew make for mixed bag of a novel. It's a quick read, but unsatisfying.

Haldeman was asked to write a Star Trek novel when James Blish bowed out, and that author was referenced in one of the minor characters (Professor Atheling, a pen-name used by Blish). He hadn't seen the show or read any other materials, and ended up using a discussion with Roddenberry and a few photocopied scripts as reference. The characters aren't bad, though they make some un-starfleet choices when dealing with impossible physics.

It does make me wonder whether technicians do transporter "tests" on new worlds first - the crew steps on the pad here and... nothing happens, which is a lot better than other types of failure!

The world itself is a bit mad, with tall grass and a ridiculous biome - but that is nothing compared to the violations of physics. The transporter doesn't work, phaser "stun" is fine but not "kill", the shuttles can land fine but the engines then cease to function; and worst of all, no communications? Yes, in the end this comes back to a too-powerful alien species who "doesn't like the noise", but seriously? The world itself is ridiculous, not part of a planetary system and orbiting a somewhat controlled black hole. I can't see star fleet that we know of dipping a toe into that planet before they understood the physics of the space around it, and that includes the prime directive. An author more knowledgeable of the canon could have had their too-powerful alien "hide" information and fool the sensors, etc.

That's the first 3/4 of the book, and then everything changes and the story finally connects to the title (which Haldeman states on his blog "wasn't his title" - so where did it come from?). This second section has nothing to do with the first, and has the too-powerful alien "testing" a portion of the crew. "Q" anyone?

Was this ending handed to Haldeman to incorporate (badly) into his story? Did someone make liberal "edits" with the ending after he submitted the manuscript? I've read Haldeman before and while the first part feels true, the ending doesn't. Did Roddenberry have some sort of a fascination with god-like powers testing the crew?

I look forward to more from this author, but not the later Star Trek book he wrote (World Without End). To quote the author from his blog, "But once I'd proved that I could write a novel with somebody else's characters, the prospect of doing it a second time was not attractive. I'd signed a two-book contract, though, and Paramount wouldn't let me buy it back. The second took three times as long and was a little less painful than pulling your own teeth."

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review previously appeared on my blog Shared Universe Reviews .

This Star Trek novel was written by Joe Haldeman, an award winning science fiction author, famous for his novel The Forever War. I've never read any of his work before but I've read some nice things about this book online. Planet of Judgement is the first of two Star Trek books written by Haldeman and it’s supposed to be the best of the two and, in some circles, one of the best Star Trek novels. Apparently the second book he wrote is not nearly as good as this one since Haldeman didn’t really feel like writing it but he still did due to his contractual obligations.

In Planet of Judgement the Enterprise is tasked to bring Dr. James Atheling to the Starfleet Academy. The voyage will take four weeks to complete. Some of Captain Kirk's senior officers have suggested he give his crew some time for recreation but he refuses because he suspects that he and his crew will face an inspection once they reach the Academy. On their way to Earth, they encounter a cosmological anomaly, a rogue planet circulating a black hole. This being the crew of the Enterprise, they decide to investigate.

The book's plot is pretty simple and I quite liked it. It doesn't need to be complicated to be interesting. Several members of the Enterprise are stranded on the abnormal planet they nicknamed Anomaly. The planet's laws of physics are different then what is normally found throughout the rest of the explored universe. In the goal of exploring the source of what appears to be an artificial sun, Kirk prepares a landing party. Shorty, after losing all contact with Kirk on Anomaly's surface, a second boarding party is sent closely followed by Spock and three shuttles attempting a rescue mission.

Haldeman gives us a pretty dangerous planet, filled with large alien versions of Mesozoic animals. Most of these animals are large and ferocious enough to threaten the crew. The flora also threatens the survival of the stranded few. The planet is also inhabited by humanoid creatures that have attained a certain level of civilization and technology as proved by their attacked armed with bows and arrows. The presence of the humanoids gives the crew one more thing to worry about: General Order One. Unfortunately, this is mostly set dressing and the rest story is about the crew’s encounter with the humanoids who really aren’t that technologically advanced. Instead, they’re minds have evolved far beyond that of Man or Vulcan. That’s what makes them dangerous to the crew.

The story of the crew’s survival on Anomaly is actually quite horrific. Haldeman manages to make the reader worry about the safety of the crew in part because there are actual casualties and also because most of their technology doesn’t work or, at best, works sporadically with varying degrees of efficiency. Haldeman doesn’t limit himself to telling a short science fiction story. He adds layers of complexity by introducing moral and philosophical debates into the story, particularly through the humanoids’ integration with the stranded crew. It’s dark for a Star Trek story but it’s smart and creepy and it’s interesting to see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the others in this difficult situation.

I found it somewhat unfortunate that the story turned into something we've seen several times in Star Trek. It turns out Anomaly is inhabited by an incredibly advanced species that are looking to use the Enterprise's officers to presumptively stop an attack on the federation that is only set to occur in one thousand years. You have to keep in mind that by the original publication of Planet of Judgement, the stories where the crew was tested by highly advanced beings hadn't been explore as frequently as it later was post-TOS. Even if it has been, it doesn’t really matter because Haldeman writes it so very well. He has an unapologetic approach to his writing and that’s something I find refreshing in the Star Trek universe. It also helps that he writes McCoy extremely well. McCoy is one of my favourite Star Trek characters and it’s really nice to see him so well written.

My main criticism of Planet of Judgement is that Haldeman seems to have decided to write a different book half way through. There is a distinct shift in story and in tone. I really wanted to finish the story that the book begins with. The story of the crew stranded on a prehistoric planet where survival is your only concern. I wanted to read about how the Spock and McCoy were going to react to the harsh conditions of Anomaly, particularly how they will survive with so little technology at their disposition? Haldeman did such a great job setting up the horrific situation the crew ended up in because of their scientific curiosity but the author never follows through with the idea.

This is the second Star Trek novel I read and there is a pattern emerging regarding sexual or emotional attraction to Spock. In Spock Must Die! Kirk was contemplating why female crew members were attracted to Spock. He concluded that it’s because it gives them a “safe” outlet for expressing their racial rebellion. In Planet of Judgement, Spock asks McCoy to explain a comment he made regarding nurse Chapel's attraction to Spock. McCoy comes to a different conclusion than Kirk. It's his opinion that Chapel likes Spock because he’s powerful (second in command on the Enterprise), intelligent and for his "behavioural predictability". Bones also adds that women like that he is different, unusual. That last comment is rather similar to what Kirk thought of in the other book. I find a discussion of this topic to be rather odd. Was Spock the teen heartthrob of The Original Series?

Coming in at 150 pages, Planet of Judgement is a pretty good Star Trek novel (says the guy who’s only read two). I liked it more than Spock Must Die! but for entirely different reasons. It’s a shame that Haldeman seems to have charted a new course for the book about halfway through but once the change is made, he quickly makes the new story just as interesting. The length of the book contributes to it being good. I have a difficult time imagining Planet of Judgement at 300 pages, a pretty average length for a modern novel. I’ll end with a positive note by saying that I absolutely love the cover and the back cover. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture of the back cover so I’ll simply describe it. The jungle continues to the left of Spock and Sharon and there is a shuttle flying below the trees surrounded by a very large red snake that is attacking the shuttle. It looks great and really helped to put me in the mood for reading this little book.

[Izzy Corbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued with this novel, as Joe Haldeman wrote one of my favorite sci-fi novels: The Forever War. I was a bit under-whelmed with this novel. Lots of psychological/illusions with the enemies at hand (which during the climax was actually pretty cool), but uneven with the presentation. Probably more of a 2 1/2 star book, but I bumped it up due to my respect for Mr. Haldeman.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very weird: dark, intense, wildly epic, head-scratching high concept sci-fi...but is it actually "Star Trek"? It could be classified as not-quite-getting-Trek...or wildly experimental Trek. Either way, it was never boring, and certainly fascinating.

[Kaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well… that was disappointing. Two stars.

I went into Planet of Judgment hoping for a solid Star Trek adventure, but instead, I got a slow, overcomplicated mess that dragged way more than it needed to. The premise is interesting—an impossible rogue planet orbiting a mini-black hole, messing with the Enterprise’s technology, and trapping Kirk and his team on the surface. That should have been enough for a fun, engaging story, but instead, the novel gets bogged down in overly abstract sci-fi concepts, unnecessary side characters, and a plot that feels like it’s trying too hard to be profound without actually saying much.

The pacing is all over the place. Some sections feel like they’re going somewhere, only for the story to grind to a halt with long-winded explanations or philosophical debates that don’t add much. The Arivne are mildly interesting, but their trials feel like filler, and the Irapina—who are supposed to be this looming, terrifying threat—barely make an impact. The crew spends more time stumbling around in confusion than actually doing anything exciting.

And then there’s the ending. After slogging through all the buildup, the resolution feels rushed and unsatisfying. The big moral dilemmas don’t really land, and the final confrontation is more of a weird mental exercise than an actual climax.

Overall, this one was a chore to get through. There are plenty of Star Trek novels that capture the feel of the Original Series way better than this. Not the worst book ever, but definitely not one I’d recommend unless you’re a hardcore completionist.

[Sandra K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have about 60 of the Star Trek paperbacks, most of them collected when they were brand-new. I thought it would be fun to go back and read them once more--every other book I'm currently reading will be one of these books. There was one scene in one book that I found to be incredible, and deeply offensive, and I just could not recall which book that was. Well--I found it, it's in "Planet of Judgment", and it has bothered me since 1977.

The scene is between Spock and McCoy, while those two, plus principles Kirk, Uhura, and Chapel, plus assorted others are stranded on a bizarre and dangerous planet. Spock suggests to McCoy that for the duration of the stay on the planet, McCoy might have an affair with Chapel, the better to keep her from interfering with Spock's work. Nope--Spock would not say that, and McCoy would have reacted much stronger to the suggestion, as the good high ranking officer that he is. The entire suggestion was just as offensive in 1977 as it is in 2021. Leading someone "down the Primrose Path" (McCoy's actual words)? It didn't happen, btw. Chapel should have slapped both of them.

This book started out promising, but the scenarios were just wrong for these characters, and the plot was a real mish-mash of just about everything but cyborgs or naughty computers. "How many subplots can we cram into 151 pages?"--maybe there was a side bet going on.

[Harry Blanchard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed a break from regular reading, a quick read with which the brain could just coast along - and Star Trek tie-in books are always a good choice for that niche. I knew Joe Haldeman had penned a few, Haldeman being on the top shelf of the best of serious sf grand master writers. So, this seemed like a good choice. Oh boy. Well. Haldeman pretty much phoned this one in. Characters spout all their cliche lines and phrases, even when it seems out of context - it feels like Haldeman's editors gave him a to-do list which he dutifully checked off. Oddly enough, at the same time, many of the our beloved characters often act very much out of character. And, to add the final insult, he rehashed the super-being plot with almost eye rolling sameness -- even to the point of referencing as a aside (with a wink) one of the TOS episodes with super beings (in a footnote, no less). Finally, Haldeman literally cuts and pastes a passage from James Blish's novelization of Amok Time - to fill out his required word count perhaps? Well, I hope the author met his rent payment or got his new dishwasher with this dashed-off work. Not unpleasant but unsatisfying.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 1 out of 5]

From August 1977, Joe Haldeman's "Planet of Judgment" is an early Star Trek novel that means well but ends up being a story with a plot that tries to do far too much in a short space. The basic plot involves the Enterprise coming across a rogue planet which they choose to investigate while postponing getting a new chancellor for Starfleet Academy there. Upon arrival though the planet appears to be very much alive with aliens more alien than we know. From there Haldeman's plot goes off the rails as we witness purposeful scenes of terror in the away team, powers that would be akin to a Q or Trelaine & a race that somehow reminds me of Species 10-C from Star Trek Discovery that is coming to invade via the Galactic Rim. As a reader if you can follow along with the plot & stick with it the book is truly Trek with all of its quirks, but Haldeman at times rushes things & throws in plot twists that we as a reader don't need.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good and different Star Trek TOS book. It starts with the Enterprise finding a new planet dubbed 'Anomaly.' Some of the officers and scientists aboard the Enterprise take a shuttle to the planet's surface and become stranded. Here nothing the crew has works as it should and nothing appears as it seems. This is an amazing book as, at least to me, this book brought out a great many new concepts and creatures. It was refreshing to see a new plot and story line. I thought all the characterizations of the original characters from the television show to be consistent. The ending was amazing and unexpected. A great book.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The old Bantam Star Trek novels are always hit or miss on quality and on whether it really is a Star Trek novel or not. Several of them seem like it was a novel written and then the names were changed to match the show. The authors had considerably more liberty in writing under Bantam than they do under Pocket these days. Planet of Judgment is one of the hits. Other than a few weird things (like the crew always saying "Endit." when they're done talking to the computer) this a good solid Star Trek novel.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few of these trek novels and have mostly been disappointed. This one though, really read like an episode of tos, Great story. There were a lot of spelling errors like Spock being called speck.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Trek had an obsession with its heroes encountering God-like intelligences and somehow surviving, often by outwitting them or exploiting hubristic tendencies. Not sure what that's all about but here's another example, which at least avoids such a cliched resolution. Passable at best.

[Clay Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting sci-fi story with language more mature than on the t.v. show.

[Trey Piepmeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. It took me a while to get into, but this was like a long, detailed, graphic episode of Star Trek. I want to read more of the novelizations now.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story started out with all the weirdness of a trip to see the Organians (a name I have always found humorous). It got weirder fast, similar to the trip with Christopher Pike returning to the cage world in "The Menagerie". It also had a bit of the megalomia and superior feeling several other shows had ("Charlie's Law", "Bread and Circuses").

Aliens on a space anomaly, quickly nicknamed just that by the crew of the Enterprise, allow the crew to board shuttlecraft and travel to the plant's surface, but then quickly disable all but the most basic functions of the various equipment and devices that perforce accompanied said crew. Of course the captain, his first mate, and his chief surgeon are included in the small landing party, and of course they are singled out as strong men who needs be are tested by the people of the planet.

It was a weird story, with the changing of one person, a security guard named Hixson, the death of others, and the ongoing testing. Why would any captain just bury his dead? Wouldn't he have made some attempt at least to find a way to return the bodies for burial? It was interesting, but yet boring, in that everything was done at the whim of the aliens, and few decisions were made by the crew that were allowed to stand. That is okay for a race of beings of near-godlike powers, but seemed off in this writing. However, I really liked the "clatter, clatter" comment made when the humans talked too much!

There were other anomalies as well, which I won't list for fear of totally spoiling the story for others. However, I will point out that even though the show often had Kirk beaming down with the aforementioned accomplices, that wouldn't really happen. The Enterprise after all very rarely had anywhere near 450 people on it, only 20 on a busy day, and therefore her Captain was kept very busy indeed.

Although I enjoyed the vignettes from memories of the chief 3, they were not so much well written as well imagined. I did like that the credit for the transcription for "Amok Time" was given to James Blish, that shows class. I didn't like that there were multiple scenes showing Bones to be a hard drinking, card playing cowboy, not one who abused his wife physically, but definitely emotionally.

I was a little surprised though when the crew practically abandoned hope when they were stranded, deciding to play pioneer rather than wrack their consider brain power to come up with alternate means of escaping.

Overall I am torn being liking this a lot for the build up of the characters outside the onscreen editions we usually see, or disliking it for the air of fatalism that seemed to pervade the story.

[Tracy Poff]

Instead of its usual mission of exploration, the Enterprise is currently tasked with transporting Dr. James Atheling to the Starfleet Academy. On the way there, they encounter a most unusual rogue planet: it is orbited by a tiny sun, and its features appear to have been deliberately constructed. They decide to investigate, but the transporters don't work, and when they take a shuttlecraft to the surface, its engines cease to function upon landing, leaving them trapped.

The planet is populated by a variety of deadly plants and animals, as well as a species, who decide to call themselves 'Arivne', after a Vulcan word, that are highly advanced and telepathic. Worse still, they are informed that another telepathic species, the Irapina, is approaching, intent on bloody conquest, though they are presently a thousand years away. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy engage in a mental battle to convince the invaders that the Federation is too strong to attempt to conquer. They succeed, and the invaders adjust course to aim for the Romulan Empire, instead.

The story lacks originality. A generically dangerous planet with some deadly beasts can be seen in any of a hundred stories.

The description of Hixon, who is transformed into a 'half-Arivne', losing his eyes is reminiscent of Wells's The Country of the Blind. The idea of a super-advanced telepathic race using what amounts to a child as an interpreter is definitely not new--we saw it one year earlier in Star Trek Log Eight.

The book's real sin is that it is boring. The landing party has set down on a dangerous planet, so they hunker down and wait for rescue. Some alien invaders need a demonstration of willpower to be dissuaded, so a demonstration is provided. There's no greater meaning to anything that happens, and no interesting questions are asked or answered. Where The Price of the Phoenix, published the previous month, was very poorly written with pretensions of larger themes, Planet of Judgment is pretty well written but doesn't even pretend to have anything worthwhile to say. It's a disappointment. Haldeman is a good, award-winning scifi author, but he cannot have been giving his best effort with this one.

My full notes are available on Barba Non DB.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's okay. It starts off with perhaps a most trenchant comment about 95% of ST fiction, even if it is not meant to be such: "I think the book underrates the maturity of the crew," says McCoy. This sums up well much of our (ST fans') irritation at the books (and some of the recent series, perhaps) - as if so many crew members would be qualified to serve on the flagship of the fleet, yet they would also allow their pettiness to cause problems for the bridge crew and the missions. I know, I know, it happens all the time in the original series, but it shouldn't have happened as much as it did, and the books, especially, should not have been driven so often by foibles of "top of the line" crewmembers.

This is another odd '70s ST book, written by a kind of fan (who forgot to watch the last two seasons until cramming them in reruns only because he wanted to write a book with main characters he didn't create), who, like most of the era, tries to "salvage the science" of the scifi, gives very discordant backstory details to our heroes (do we need to think of young Spock having difficulty with his human cousins over toys?), and gives us perhaps the most '70s ST moment of all with a young would-be crewmember supposedly having to choose between a career and having a baby, as if Starfleet were the US Army circa the Korean Police Action. Say what you will about Wesley, one of the best aspects of TNG was the acknowledgment that a society with the ability to create food and materials and transportation instantly could also have the ability for people to have careers and families. At least TNG didn't have "civilian family members get in the way" plots too often (ish).

The plot becomes rather convoluted at the end, with Mr. Haldeman creating not one but two near-omnipotent races that our mere mortal heroes have to outwit and overpower, but that does tend to happen in the ST universe fairly often, doesn't it? Thus, though it "feels" throughout like it is not really a ST book (the great objective fan criterion, "my feelings"), it may be among the most representative of ST books ... though it represents mostly the contradictory and deus ex machina elements of ST (and mediocre scifi at large). But it's short, though, and there're even a couple mentions of Uhura without reminding us of her skin color, so that's good.

[Odyssey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second venture into Star Trek books and an author I really enjoyed reading in the past. Definitely a better story and writing compared to what I have been reading recently. Is it a good Star Trek fiction though? Lets dive in shall we.

***As always minor spoilers ahead***

Yet again we follow the crew of Enterprise, while fulfilling a routine assignment they get diverted to a curious planet that has quite a few extraordinary things happening, away team gets marooned on the planet and the planet turns out to be both fascinating and horrifically deadly.

The Good:

I am familiar with Joe Haldeman through his "Forever War" trilogy and enjoyed it immensely, likewise here the pacing is solid, the writing enjoyable and for the most part characters read as they would appear in the tv series. Author conjures a very immediate and believable predicament and writing translates all the horror of the situation. I would go so far as to say that this reads as part Star Trek, part Deathworld (Harry Harrison), part Event Horizon. It worked for me though.

The Bad:

This is only my second book of Star Trek fiction and both books involved omnipotent beings, the least interesting Star Trek trope, it is hard to do well as it is too easy to revert to the good old finger snapping - things are resolved. While this does not happen here, the plot just goes in the direction that I did not particularly enjoy.

There are also a few plot threads that start and do not get developed, the love triangle, Spok's and nurse Chapel's possible romance etc.
Certain plot threads are resolved easier than would have been preferable...some deus ex machina machinations happen with the ships quarantine for example.

The Ugly:

Stop writing Scotty in a bad Holliwood "Scots" accent, I will say it again there are better ways to make character come to life.

In Summary.
This was an enjoyable scifi read, but I am not sure if this was very Star Trek like, due to a heavy dose of horror present in the middle part of the book. If you can stomach yet another omnipotent beings story line there is a lot to like here, Joe Haldeman sure knows how to write an engaging narrative.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it fits with Star Trek's more fanciful view of super-advanced alien beings toying with reality, Planet of Judgment is still imbued with hard SF concepts, in that almost educational way that more youth-oriented books often are. And while the plot is fine, the landing party's early efforts to survive particularly well thought out (if at times, violent), the real highlight is the attention to character. Haldeman isn't afraid to fill in some details, such as McCoy's wife leaving him or Spock's first visit to Earth as a 10-year-old boy. As characters fall asleep, the prose turns into readable stream of consciousness that also gives us an insight into the regulars, and Spock confides in McCoy about how to best deal with the Chapel situation. Even scenes that have no real impact on the plot as such, such as McCoy's memory of being played for a rube on a frontier planet, retain the reader's interest and stand out. Both alien races are very strange, but efficiently drawn in just a few words. One of the writer's other qualities is the throwaway element that you wish he'd explore in more detail, but that satisfies you as a part of the story. A good bit of fun from a multiple Hugo and Nebula Aware winner.

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright story, and it had some interesting elements. I think the first half was better than the second. When they first explore the planet there were a few great almost horror like elements, genuinely scary threats to the crew. The second half where aliens force some people to relive painful memories was an interesting concept but the author doesn't do much in the way of internal introspection with any of the characters so it loses its punch somewhat. Also, they spend several pages describing the events of Amok Time, which I thought was strange because I'm assuming most readers would be very familiar with this episode, and the author doesn't add much to it. They could have skimmed over the details for that one and spent much more time on McCoy's flashbacks which were events the reader doesn't know about and could have been fleshed out more. I did enjoy the tests at the end, but I think that the dreamlike, unreal aspects of the visions could have been played up a lot more. One other thing, there was a subplot with a visiting scientist and a love triangle with one of the crew that didn't really go anywhere, so I was left wondering why it was included at all. Overall, a decent and enjoyable TOS novel, but not one of the best.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really hold sci-fi books based on licensed property to the same standard as I do most book. In the case of a Star Trek book, I ask myself would this make a good episode or movie. And with Haldeman it is a VERY hard decision. One the hand, this borders on the 'we went to the edge of the universe and found being who might as well be God' trope that Star Trek the TV series has visited a few too many times. (Not to mention the countless comics, books, and video games.) However, Haldeman finds some new directions to take it in and gets props for that.

Only to lose it again for introducing a subplot at the start, have it go more or less nowhere, then just abandon it unresolved about 3/4 of the way through almost like it was only there so his manuscript would reach the minimum length required for the check to clear. In other words, a good editor would have ripped it out and make him do it again.

Still, I can't be TOO harsh on it. Even with that it is still better than a lot of stories that made it into the actual show.