Cadet Kirk

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1996 series) #3

by Diane Carey

James T. Kirk was a "by-the-book" Starfleet Academy cadet. Until he had to throw the book away!

It was a simple shuttle trip -- just a quick hop to a nearby planet where renowned computer genius Richard Daystrom will give a lecture. But then a tractor beam forces the shuttle to land at a remote Federation outpost. Medical Intern McCoy, Ensign Spock and Cadet Kirk have been kidnapped by space pirates! They're outnumbered and outgunned. McCoy and Spock simply want to escape and alert the authorities. But Professor Daystrom is the real target, and his shuttle will be entering this region of space soon. For Daystrom's sake, The fiery young Kirk is determined to destroy the pirates' outpost -- even if he has to do it alone.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Media Tie In

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Diane Carey also wrote the Distress Call 911 young adult series under the name D.L. Carey.

Diane Carey is primarily a science fiction author best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She has been the lead-off writer for two Star Trek spin-off book series: Star Trek The Next Generation with Star Trek: Ghost Ship, and the novelization of the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, Broken Bow.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Carey

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crisis on Vulcan, the first book of this trilogy, only featured eighteen-year-old Spock from what would eventually be the crew of Captain Kirk's Enterprise starship. Book two, Aftershock, switched to young Leonard McCoy's perspective while still featuring Spock, but Cadet Kirk doesn't follow suit by moving on to Jim Kirk's perspective. He's the star of the story, a seventeen-year-old cadet proving himself a courageous and efficient decision-maker under extreme duress, but the narrative point of view is mostly McCoy's. Perhaps his sarcastic wit makes McCoy an appealing lead character. Cadet Kirk is a meaningful conclusion to this Star Trek prequel series, the first unofficial mission for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in the face of serious danger. A single misstep or tactical gaff could end their lives before they graduate the Academy, before they become legends onboard the Enterprise. A lot is at stake in this book for the three aspiring Starfleet officers.

After years of dedicated study at the Academy, Cadet Kirk is ready for the reward of escorting Federation VIP Richard Daystrom to a lecture at a colony in deep space; at least, that was the plan until orders abruptly changed. Transporting Daystrom is delayed, and Kirk is asked instead to pilot Spock and McCoy on an errand through space. Kirk's disappointment is strong, but he shelves his resentment when a tractor beam attacks the ship from an isolated Federation outpost. One partial crash-landing later, the trio of Starfleet recruits learns they've been abducted by space pirates hoping to get Richard Daystrom. Spock's Vulcan logic and Kirk's sharp mind for improvisation clash as they debate how to handle the pirates, but these enemies have no intention of treating our heroes gently if they don't capitulate to their demands. The outpost turns into a war zone, three inexperienced recruits against a band of cutthroat pirates, and the only way for the good guys to win may be to outsmart the marauders at their own game.

Initially resistant to Kirk's devil-may-care strategy, Spock pulls back when he sees that the cadet's temerity usually pays off. They both want to captain a starship someday, but Spock recognizes that Kirk's talent for outmaneuvering enemies may be their only escape from this mess. Back and forth across the outpost the pirates and Starfleet trainees fight, while Kirk, Spock, and McCoy hope the distress signal they emitted upon landing will bring reinforcements before it's too late. Life-or-death experience is what a student commander needs to complete his education, and if Kirk survives, he'll have an edge over recruits who haven't been battle tested. The adventures will only get better when Captain Kirk is commanding an all-star Enterprise crew that includes Spock as first officer and McCoy as the ship's doctor.

Surprisingly, this book starts with Kirk rigidly adhering to every regulation he's been taught, but the heat of battle reshapes his iron. What good is following the rules if it gets you killed? When Kirk becomes desperate and starts ad libbing, that, too, goes amiss at first. "The poor cadet had tried to do the right thing step after step, and everything he had done backfired. He was trying to be flexible, to combine rules and regulations with improvisation, but somehow he hadn't learned the recipe yet." Kirk vents his frustration to McCoy. "If regulations give you away to your enemy, what good are they? How can following regulations get us into deeper trouble? I thought Starfleet had all this figured out." McCoy has an insightful answer. "Regulations don't cover everything. That's why we have a command structure—because experience counts for something. When you're little, the rule is 'Do what your mother says.' Later you learn how and when to bend that rule. At the Academy, they start with 'Follow regulations.' Later...well, you learn how and when to improvise." That's the balance great leaders must learn, which later made Captain Kirk's decisions usually turn out right when confronted with nightmare scenarios on foreign planets. He developed an unrivaled sense of when to ignore Starfleet imperatives and go by instinct, and it carried his crew and ship all the way to the end.

Diane Carey's experience as a Star Trek novelist shows in this book. Cadet Kirk is the fastest-paced and most exciting novel of the trilogy, and the characterizations of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are impeccable. I never get enough of McCoy's wry humor, and Diane Carey treats us to a classic "I'm a medic, not a sumo wrestler" line on page ninety-four. You know the trilogy wouldn't be complete without that. I give Cadet Kirk two and a half stars, and if Crisis on Vulcan is the best of the series, this isn't far behind, and neither is Aftershock. I enjoy a quality Star Trek story, and you'll get that here. On page or screen, it's a thrill to accompany the Enterprise "where no man has gone before."

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent novel, but I wish I'd read it at 10 years-old rather than at 36.
It's fun to see Kirk as an overeager cadet, but Diane Carey portrays him in somewhat cartoonish fashion, even referring to him as "Jimmy" throughout. At the end of the book, Jimmy spells out how this adventure taught him to rely less on Starfleet regulations and more on his own instincts, giving us the genesis of his eventual cowboy persona. CADET KIRK also marks the first time that Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all work together, as well as Kirk and McCoy's first time on board the Enterprise. It's nowhere near canon, but it's sorta fun regardless.
In typical YA fashion, the writing isn't the greatest, nor are the villains anything other than 100% generic, but the relationship among STAR TREK's "holy trinity" is always good for a smile or two.

[r.j. · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an ok Star Trek book, but I didn’t really like Kirk going by Jimmy for the majority of the book.

[W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cadet "Jimmy Kirk" is not all that likeable,and he is a bit too full of himself.Spock and McCoy are senior to him and he is not too happy about it.Badly written,skimmed through it.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Doctor McCoy book so I thought I’d check this one out. Diane Carey has a good reputation in Star Trek writing so that gives me some comfort.

It’s off to a good start with McCoy and Spock being confronted by a snot-nosed rule-following Kirk.

I think it’s a weakness them all being together, but at least they weren’t in the womb together.

This story jumps straight into action when Kirk, McCoy and Spock and sent in a warp Shuttlecraft to a colony, there to wait for further instructions.

Because it’s a long trip McCoy looks into the ship’s locker to find books—real books—to read. One of them is called “Victory at Aximar” by Garth of Izar. Now I wonder if the author got the name wrong or if it was never as firmly decided (to be Axanar) at that point?

As they are arriving at their destination a tractor beam ensnares them and there is no communication about the reason.

Being the maverick that he is Cadet Kirk decides to crash land breaking free of the tractor beam.

”I’ve only seen two Klingons in my whole life, and there’s another one!”

Once again Todd Cameron Hamilton does interior illustrations and I’m very appreciative of them.

”Compromise usually means that somebody loses, and it’s not usually the guys with the guns.”

In this book the characters remember what has happened in the previous books and it’s a good thing because I do to!

I could be reading into things but it looks like there was a deliberate effort to write these as younger versions of the characters we know. Kirk is an arrogant smart alec (maybe Abrams wasn’t as far off as some people — including me — thought!). Spock is distinctly naive.

The poor cadet had tried to do the right thing step after step, and everything he had done backfired. He was trying to be flexible, to combine rules and regulations with improvisation, but somehow he hadn’t learned the recipe yet.

Admittedly this is an action heavy book and Kirk is doing his bit well, but it’s a shame McCoy doesn’t get few good things to do, other than psychoanalyze Spock and Kirk.

Well, this was a fun book. Reminiscent of an episode and a good sketch of the younger versions of Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

A strong 4 stars and definitely worth keeping.

In fact I’ve enjoyed these so much that I ordered the one I never found - ‘Crisis on Vulcan’.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cadet Jimmy Kirk gets a plumb assignment to shuttle the illustrious Dr. Richard Daystrom to a scientific conference. But after a last-minute change in plans, he ends up flying a couple of newly-minted Ensigns instead - Spock and McCoy. Things really go sideways when the shuttle is pulled off-course by kidnappers hoping to snag Daystrom, but when all they get are a crew of green cadets, they aren't at all pleased.

Kirk starts off this story as an officious, rule-following annoyance and doesn't change for most of this book. He does eventually start to come around and realize that following his intuition and instincts isn't a bad thing, and rules have their place, but at some point you might grow to be able to interpret when you break them. The downside of these revelation is some heavy-handed exposition and introspective thoughts that really hammer it all home. I understand that this book is written for younger readers, but it probably doesn't have to be spelled out quite so completely.

Spock and McCoy are along for the ride here, but don't have any big moments. Their dialogue is much better than Kirk's and more in character with what we're familiar. They almost could have been replaced by other characters for all the bearing this has on any future relationships or current status quo. In some ways, it might have been better to see Kirk learning and taking a leadership role with different characters. I would have liked to see an early leadership experience for him.

The antagonists are typically two dimensional with no real personality or threat here. We get an obligatory appearance by a Klingon, one of their cruisers, and ultimately the Enterprise, but again its all just fan service with no real purpose beyond that.

Of the three books in the series, this is my least favorite. The previous two had some laudable themes and interests for younger readers, but this one never rises above a second-rate adventure story.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, James Kirk is a Star Fleet cadet, Spock is a Star Fleet ensign and McCoy is a Medical Intern. Kirk is to pilot a shuttlecraft to a conference where the primary passenger is to be computer genius Dr. Richard Daystrom. Through a change in plans, the passenger list is changed so there are three people on board, Kirk, McCoy and Spock.
While enroute to the conference, the shuttle is grabbed by a tractor beam and forced down on a planet. Thinking that Daystrom is on the shuttle, the goal of the pirates is to take him captive, extract classified information and then ransom him back to the Federation.
All three of the characters are not yet molded into their final form. Kirk is a very regulation/rule follower, Spock has not yet managed to adapt his Vulcan logic to his interactions with humans and McCoy is not yet an opiniated doctor. In their struggles to overcome their captors and make sure that Daystrom is not kidnapped in the future, the three men must cooperate and overcome their current rough edges in order to triumph. The author does an excellent job in describing how the three men are working their way from being students to the Starfleet legends that they will become. The reader can also see the beginnings of the deep friendship that will be produced.
This is an excellent story; it is enjoyable to see Cadet Kirk as a stickler for rules and regulations and Spock taking the position that some rules do not apply to their situation. It reminds the people that enjoy the original Star Trek series that the characters were once inexperienced novices.

[Ann Feutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cadet Kirk is a juvenile fiction novel featuring Cadet "Jimmy" Kirk, Ensign Spock, and Ensign McCoy. There's an abduction by tractor beam, space pirates, and a cadet that learns when instinct and courage take precedent over the rules (sometimes.) It's a predictable plot, but it still warmed my TOS-loving heart.

On the whole, I thought the story was full of decent action and adventure. It also had some good glimpses into the friendship and bond this trio will later develop once they're aboard the Enterprise. I also loved McCoy's acerbic comments because they obviously followed him into adulthood.

I would love to read to my nieces and nephews when they're around 10-12 as an introduction to the novels. It's a quick, entertaining read and the illustrations are a delightful touch.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 1 out of 5]

This just isn't that great, I'm afraid. Kirk comes across as an absolute prig - though in fairness I think he is meant to - and the character strokes are very broad. It is a children's novel, but there's a broad streak of didacticism here that makes it quite a tedious little read in places. Carey has done some great Trek novels for adults, but she's missed the mark on this one for me.

[Matt Urban · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you want to read a well-written book about Stark Trek and philosophy of life? Then go elsewhere. This book is made for nerds like me who cannot stop thinking about the original golden trio. This feels like a children's book, it may be. But if you do not care about Jim Kirk, you will not care about this book.

But...But I did.

[Devin Copes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read a story of how the Big Three, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy met in the Prime Timeline. I enjoyed this very much. Much more than the first book in this series.

[Ary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adoro este tipo de histórias pré star trek original 😍

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I loved it.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent

[Jason Barney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special. Just read it to finish up all of the Star Trek books.

[Todd Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a young adult Star Trek. It as amusing.

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Cadet Kirk" by Diane Cary is the 3rd and final book in the 1996 Star Trek Starfleet Academy series of novels that charted the earlier escapades of Kirk, Spock and McCoy in the prime Trek Universe. The plot is based around a shuttle flight in which Kirk had been expecting to fly the famous scientist, Richard Daystrom to another planet. However, due to a change in plans he is left transporting two rather unknown young officers named Spock & McCoy. During their journey, they are caught in a tractor beam and pulled down into a small outpost by pirates who had been hoping to capture Daystrom. So Kirk, Spock and McCoy must work together so that they can escape the pirates and ensure that Daystrom doesn’t fall into the same trap.

As seems to be the norm with this series of young adult Trek lit, the plot is very basic with little in the way complications or surprises. The beginning of the book was also rather slow which did make we wonder how easily a young reader would stick with it. However, once you get past the initial section of the book the pace picks up and there are some fun and entertaining action scenes. By the end of the book I found that I had rather enjoyed the overall experience even if it all was a little bit predictable. My enjoyment was probably helped by the story being told from McCoy’s point of view as I do like getting to witness his rather bleak and sarcastic views.

The real positive in the novel though was in getting to watch Kirk, Spock and McCoy gradually grow to respect each other. Initially, they were very formal and unsure of each other, but by the end they were working together as a team that showed the first hints of what they would become in the future.

One aspect that had me a little unsure about the novel was the way in which McCoy and Kirk didn’t appear to know each other initially as this was at odds with what occurred in the previous book, “Aftershock”. It is explained later on in the story that they just didn’t recognise each other but based on what had previously happened, I was surprised that McCoy at least didn’t remember Kirk much more easily. It felt to me that Carey wanted her book to be based around Kirk not knowing either Spock or McCoy and she just through in the failure to remember each other as a way to ensure the books in the series would still technically be linked to each other.

Overall, I was a little bit split in regards to this book as whilst I enjoyed the fact that this book was more action orientated compared to the other books in the series, I also felt that the start was rather slow and I didn’t like the cheap feeling plot point regarding McCoy and Kirk not remembering each other. In the end I just have to say that this is an average book that will probably only really appeal to someone trying to introduce Trek literature to a child or a completionist.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd in the "Starfleet Academy" series - don't ask me why I read it out of order, heh :) This is a young adult book so the plot is pretty thin - just like the book itself - and rather straightforward and uncomplicated. Unfortunately, I do prefer a bit more twists and turns and at least a surprise or two. Also, I didn't like the fact that 99% of the book was told from McCoy's POV and then suddenly, for just two scenes, it switched to the bad guy's POV - it could've been handled differently, with McCoy hiding and listening to the bad guys' conversation or something; this abrupt change of POV was a bit... strange.

But I loved McCoy's monologues, his acerbic comments and his "OMG, we will so die here!!!" attitude, that was pretty funny. Kirk didn't click for me much here, but I did like the way the three of them - Kirk, Spock and McCoy - influenced each other's way of thinking.

So, all in all, a good book, a quick read but not all that memorable.

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I nearly didn't read this before sending it on to you, Katikat, but I'm very glad I did.

Without giving too much away, I enjoyed Kirk's first meeting with Spock and McCoy, as Kirk is just a Cadet, whereas they being older and more advanced in the Starfleet Academy are Ensigns. This means that Kirk calls them both 'sir', admittedly more Spock than McCoy. You also see all three gradually respecting each other until all three refer to themselves as a team and won't leave each other behind.

An interesting take on the early days of Kirk, McCoy and Spock, with them all caught up in an unexpected adventure. A bonus is definitely the Star Trek universe timeline at the beginning.

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being as this is the third on the original series starfleet acadmey books I liked it and I liked that it showed how Kirk, Spock and, McCoy became one heck of a crew. Diane Carey weaves a tale of a young strong willed cadet that will one day become the captain of the Entperise and makes me at least want to read the My Brother's Keepr trilogy and Entperise: The First Adventure just to continue on and see how young James Kirk rose in rank to command the legendary starship.

[Kristina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCoy and Spock have to go to a seminar, cadet Kirk is the one to take them. He is very much by the book, and refuses to do anything that isn't in the regulations. Their shuttle gets hijacked and the older Ensigns need to show Kirk that sometimes the regulations aren't right. A fun, quick read that shows a very different Kirk to the one we know. A good read.

[Cara Noyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirk at age 17; a little too cutesy for me. But it was well written and showed Kirk's early aptitude for outwitting opponents. Only thing I did not like was his interaction with McCoy at the beginning.