Captain's Peril

Star Trek: Totality #1

by William Shatner

The Dominion War is over. The Federation is at peace. What better time for two legendary starship captains to set aside the demands of duty and take some well-deserved time off? When Kirk and Picard arrive on Bajor to dive among the ruins of an ancient sunken city, things are far worse than they had planned.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Space, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

William Shatner is the author of nine Star Trek novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Ashes of Eden and The Return. He is also the author of several nonfiction books, including Get a Life! and I'm Working on That. In addition to his role as Captain James T. Kirk, he stars as Denny Crane in the hit television series from David E. Kelley, Boston Legal -- a role for which he has won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd count this among the better of Shatners's Trek efforts. Of course Kirk comes across as smarter, bolder and wiser than he should (with Picard taking a distant backseat). That's a given. Plus we can apparently take for granted that he's alive at the same time Picard is serving as captain on the Enterprise, and that they are good friends. So definitely not consistent with Trek canon in several very key regards, though it does tie into some aspects of DS9 canon as it relates to the story, particularly in regards to Bajor and its conflict with the Cardassians.

There are two interleaving plot lines, one present day and one from Kirk's early days on the Enterprise. The latter never really connects in any meaningful way with the former beyond having served as a kind of lesson for Kirk in humility and coping with loss. Remarkably, or perhaps not, the Kirk of the present remains as brash as ever. Anyhow, I found both quite engaging. There are few details provided on the ominous, extra-galactic and super advanced "Totality" that threatens the galaxy and is featured in the past plot line, though strangely not in the present day line. However, it piqued my interest enough to want to continue with the series and find out how that threat materializes.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I loved it!

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb Fun! James T Kirk at his Best!

This was so fun to read. It's been a long time since I read a decent Star Trek book. And this was was totally satisfying! Kirk is daring, a little bit insane with the risky stuff he does and he tries his best to save lives. Of course he gets into fist fights because that is one of his favorite things to do - not to mention some nasty alien needs to be punched in the face. But this novel has all the features of the classic Star Trek that one loves. Kirk even has a very temporary love interest.

This is two stories in one. There is a story that takes place during Captain Kirk's original five year mission and he is telling this story to Captain Picard. I found it to be very exciting and full of danger. I also feel that the major threat for this trilogy of books comes from the encounter that Kirk has in this story. Basically it's some super advanced alien spacecraft that came from very far away. I don't want to say too much but I believe it makes the Borg looks like harmless little critters. So yes, this will definitely be a major threat. And while know that somehow Kirk always comes through to defeat everyone he faces at the moment I cannot see how he can defeat this advanced alien ship. A worthy enemy indeed!

The second story, set in the present day where he is with Captain Picard, definitely has more action. Kirk is quite the dare devil and he tries to get Picard to do the crazy stuff too. It was loads of fun to see the two men interact and the things they said to each other. Often Picard had to guess what Kirk was going to do. There are many moments of danger in this part, on numerous occasions. The storyline here was about the two captains visiting Bajor to look at an archeological site. Of course things go wrong and there was a murder. In many ways this part is like a mystery as we all know that Captain Picard loves solving mysteries.

Many of the chapters ended in little cliffhangers which definitely made the book more fun and exciting! I just loved that.

I also liked the archeology in here. Nothing is more fun than mysterious underwater ruins.

This is definitely a fun addition to the Star Trek novels. Because who is better to write James T Kirk than William Shatner? He IS Kirk!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting to pay another visit to the Shatnerverse version of "Star Trek", but here I am...and I've been pleasantly surprised. It's a game of two halves: the first, a stellar look at a painful coming-of-age moment early into Kirk's first captaincy of the Enterprise; the second, a post-Dominion War adventure with Captain Picard on Bajor. The early-days Enterprise storyline is superb: emotional, witty, devastating, and giving some surprisingly deep back-story to the briefly seen CMO Dr. Piper. The Bajoran storyline isn't quite as powerful, mostly due to a religious zealotism on the part of the Bajorans that feels more early DS9 than post Sisko/post Dominion Bajor. That said, the archeological murder mystery concludes with suitably mystical connotations. The end result is a novel that was far more satisfying than I was expecting.

[David Agranoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK are we positive that Shat remembered to send this on to the Reeves Stevens team for a re-write. Because they are pretty solid and I found this Trek novel to be a total snoozer. No offense to the Shat.

[Lois Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read (well, listened to) this one after all these years. Liked that it didn't need a previous original Trek mission for it's story, but it clearly was setting up one for the next two books... which, for once isn't an actual TOS episode, but still after binge listening to all of these in a row, is a bit tiresome. But still pretty good.
----
7/19/21 - listened to it unabridged, liked it; probably much better than it abridged, but 2018 was a while ago, so definitely don't remember.

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors William Shatner & Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens brings us a tale of both Captain Kirk and Captain Picard's vacation on the planet Bajor. The book starts off while the two captains are preforming their orbital sky dive. And as soon as they crash in the Bajorian desert Picard and Kirk begin to talk and Kirk is asked about a mission from his past that he says the completion is still going on. That mission took place five months into his first five year mission as captain of the Enterprise NCC-1701 and before the events of the episode Where No Man Has Gone Before (The second pilot to TOS). That mission was to a rift where they where forced to compete against a Klingon for control over an alien ship that had burst in from out of the galaxy at warp 15. As Kirk recants this story to Picard they find out that the camp that they where headed to had a murder. This brought the two starship captains to the point where they had a mystery on their hands and they had to solve it. That mystery lead them into the depths of an inland sea. While a century ago Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise where facing possible destruction from a child like species that had escaped what they call the Totality. This was an interesting book taking place just after the events of Star Trek: Insurrection and the end of the Dominion War. For a Star Trek fan I highly recommend this book as well for a any science fiction fan.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book already having read the last of the Totality trilogy novels, Captain's Glory. An odd order to read these, but unfortunately, I have to say that I wasn't too terribly disappointed to have learned the spoiler.
Captain's Glory was decent, but this was a little below. It is written the way I would expect Shatner to write a Star Trek novel- Captain Kirk is the hero, everyone else admires him like a legend. That feel was all too present in this novel. It's as if Shatner couldn't resist resurrecting Kirk from his grave on Veridian III (see film Star Trek: Generations) and having him become the center of the Next Generation universe.
All that said, there were good points in this novel that I felt were worth a star or two. The orbital skydiving scene at the beginning, the subplot involving Kirk's first encounter with the trilogy's protagonist, Norinda, and a decent murder mystery story at a Bajoran archaeological site were all pretty enjoyable. Also, I was impressed by the efforts towards scientific accuracy (thanks Reeves-Stevenses). But beyond that, not much jumps out at me. The dialogue is simplistic, the characters shallow (except Kirk, of course, and even he isn't that impressive), and the payoff of both main storylines too uninteresting for me to really enjoy it.
Maybe I'll get into the second Totality novel at some point; I hope it thrills me more than this!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain's Peril has Picard and Kirk taking a adventure holiday together as things progress they find themselves involved in a investigation at the archaeological site of Bar'trila which leads them into more and conspiracies and mysteries as the book goes on! :D Overall there is the story that Kirk tell Picard in flash back the you know is coming to bite them in them in the back! :D

Captain's Peril sets things up brilliantly for the next book and adds a mysteries enemy for them to deal with! :D The interaction between Kirk and Picard is as always brilliant with them debating each others decisions left right and centre as they get on with things but always with great overtones showing how well they work together! :D The action comes thick and fast as well with events on an epic scale piling on top of each throughout! :D

Captain's Peril is full of mystery, skulduggery, adventure and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read, what I now know were the last two books in this Totality trilogy in 2008 & 2014 respectively, I was surprised when I came across this book last year (2021).

This is, however, more of a standalone novel that just sets the stage for the events that take place in the remaining two books, that's not to say this is in any way a bad or uninteresting read, far from it.

Primarily this revolves around the characters of Kirk & Picard who take a joint holiday on Bajor, but it also includes flashbacks to one of Kirk's first missions as the Captain of the Enterprise.

The characterisation is spot on for both Captains, as are all the other well-known figures with the accompanying humour and bantering between them.

This was a pleasure to read, invoking all the feelings of watching a good episode of TOS or TNG, plus there are quite a number of tie in references to many of the Trek series and films some of which may take you by surprise.

[Declan Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirk is back (again) and this time is on vacation on Bajor with Picard. But soon Picard goes missing, and Kirk must find him, and understand who is murdering the Bajorans at a flooded archaeological site.

This was a fun little story in the Star Trek universe. Definitely not cannon and if you've read any of Shatner's Star Trek books before you'll already know the theme. -- That is: Kirk is great!! It starts with Kirk convincing Picard to take a dive into Bajor's atmosphere... and from there things start to go wrong.

The beginning of the book is a little frustrating, with Kirk referring to Picard as his friend about a hundred times in 50 pages... oh dear!! Once I got over this, the book is a fun story with two distinct tendrils - the first the adventure on Bajor; the second as Kirk tells Picard about one of his early missions (adventures) as Captain. Good fun pulp fiction.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book this...a little less complex ..well a lot less than the last book I read by this trio making me think maybe Shatner could have been more a driving force in this one rather than as I had suspected it being more the co authors with Shatner hoofed upfront for ..err..commercial reasons.
Whatever in some ways this is almost a murder mystery thing with hints of lovecraftian style 'old gods' whilst really being nothing like what I've just described😂.
However enjoyable enough in truth as a original piece it may have been a three star read but in regard to the Star Trek series of books this was one I enjoyed..some of them have felt like a chore in truth.
It flashes back to old Trek and New(ish) Trek as with all the Shatner books I've read so far it's a Kirk/Picard two up but with Kirk( in this one at least ) being the main man.
Fun enough then...

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The "Shatnerverse" books have had their ups and downs; there are some genuinely great reads among them. Sadly, Captain's Peril is not one of those. The story wasn't one that captivated me at any point, and instead served to further inflate the already-over-the-top image of Captain Kirk's greatness. The book's depiction of the Bajorans also disappointed me. The story is somewhat elevated by the flashback scenes to the early days of Kirk's first five-year mission, as well as an exciting epilogue, but overall the story can't escape its pedestrian A-plot.

Full review: http://www.treklit.com/2018/09/CP.html

[Lee Bartholomew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh fir the 40 % start of the book I was concerned up until the 7 yr old became a focal point and knowing Bajorans as I know them from DS9 yep ear lobes and all . And well Kira :) So of course I perked right up and book went from 6-7 days of reading 40 % of it then boom done in 2 days . Sometimes it takes awhile for Bill to catch his second wind. Best one since Ashes of Eden. I'm sure it'll get worse as I sorta heard about the ending but thats Kirk. I thought it was a good but that's my opinion. I'm sure some will be put off by his flashbacks but they were fun.

[C Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) My favorite Shatnerverse novel since the first couple. If you’re looking for interactions between Kirk and other familiar characters, this is probably not the book for you. However, if you’re interested in a “shore leave gone wrong”-style story with both a mystery and an ongoing flashback that explores Kirk at a formative period of his career, then this book is worth reading. As always, I found Shatner’s audiobook narration adds a sense of authenticity and fun to the proceedings.

[Starflung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable story

The book started off a little bit slow, but then quickly gain speed as the plot became more complex and dealt with action in addition to introspection. I liked that Mr. Shatter stayed true to the basic Star Trek storylines and personalities. I would have given the book 4 1/2 stars because of the slow start but I rounded off the five for what I thought was a good book.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the shatnerverse novels. I loved the first two trilogies and really enjoyed this first of the 3rd. I liked everything this had to offer. A bit of mystery on Bajor. I liked as always the dynamic between Kirk and Picard. I liked the jumps back to the story of Kirks early mission. A great novel as a fun read.

[Karen Lalonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

This is a good story. Kirk and Picard go on a vacation that would give me goosebumps from the start. Skydiving into an archeology camp. Then murders. Picard lost at sea. The o lyrics part I didn't get was the epilogue. It had nothing to do with the story.

[Derwin Lester II · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been big on the Bajorans from Star Trek. So this one wasn't my favorite. The stories themselves were fun, but didn't seem to tie together. My absolute favorite part was the last ten pages. Gripping, bleak and sad. Intense. I wish the last ten pages was the whole book. Would recommend.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirk's High risk life is shared with Picard, Relates his story of meeting the totality for the first time. This was a good read

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Shatner impersonating Picard's voice priceless. Audiobook is worth it.

[George Godsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was fun to read about Kirk and Picard working together.

[Virginia Corley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book wish they would write more of them

[Joe Seliske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirk, Picard, intrigue - what could any Star Trek fan ask for? The Bajor storyline was much better than the rookie Kirk story. All things considered, a good read.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

How many times does a book need to explicitly say that Kirk and Picard are friends?

[David Sastre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Star Trek buddy cop story? Works very well!

[Katrina Veerkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and am anxious to read the other two in the trilogy. Kirk does it all….but I still loved it

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little uneven… hammy narration by Shatner. Fun though!

[Egghead · Rating 3 out of 5]

kirk outthinks picard
and everybody around
because he's the best

[Brandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Captain’s Peril is a good book, though, I have some concerns with the way the Bajorans are depicted. The book seems to start out a little slow, which is one of the reasons I had trouble getting into story initially. It took nearly a month for me to finish this title. But that wasn’t only due to the pace of the book. It was also because I was reading it on a new device, and it took me a while to figure out which settings worked best for me (font, font size, screen brightness). After I found the combination of settings that was most comfortable for me, I flew through the second half of the book in a total of about 6 hours.

One of my major qualms with Captain’s Peril, perhaps the biggest one of all, is the way that the Bajorans are portrayed. I find it difficult to believe that Bajorans would be as ignorant of off-worlders as they are portrayed to be here, even for rural Bajorans. In Captain's Peril, the Bajorans are hostile to Picard and Kirk's presence on their planet, which I can understand, but their beliefs and the knowledge that these Bajorans lack - I don't understand it. In more than one instance in the novel, the Bajorans stated that they didn’t know or believe that off-worlders were capable of love or other emotions, or even of forming friendships. In all of the Star Trek canon that I’ve encountered, I’ve never seen any indication that Bajorans believe this. It’s possible, I suppose, but it certainly does seem out of character. If they had specified that they didn’t know that humans, specifically, felt this way, it would have been more believable than just lumping all “off-worlders” into one group, though, it does sound like something Bajorans might say about Cardassians. Also, I could understand how one Bajoran might feel this way, but the undercurrent is that it’s a mainstream sentiment in Bajoran society.

Are these Bajorans really that isolated? Possibly. One explanation could be that the Bajorans we meet in Captain’s Peril are part of a subgroup that has never been presented in canon before. Maybe they belong to a different religious group. It’s an interesting prospect. This book presents the possibility that there is more than one Bajoran religion, excluding the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. The Captain’s Peril Bajorans believe the same basic principles of what I’ve come to think of as the dominant Bajoran religion we see most prominently in DS9, but some of the details differ.

To be fair, Captain’s Peril is the first of the three-book Totality series, so I’m expecting the next installment to have a faster pace earlier in the book. This is the third Shatnerverse series I’ve read. I’ve read the Mirror Universe series and the Odyssey series (except for The Ashes of Eden, possibly), so generally I like the Shatnerverse novels. I don’t remember the plots of the books in those series feeling as if they began as slow as Captain’s Peril did in the beginning. The action in Captain’s Peril picks up nicely towards the middle, though, and the ending is top-notch, and a surprise that I hadn’t anticipated. Good stuff. Next in the series: Captain’s Blood.