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Star Trek Adventures #16
Mudd's Angels
1st edition Corgi 1978 paperback, vg++ In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1978
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311 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Lawrence
15 books5 followersJudith Ann "Judy" Lawrence was the wife of author James Blish. Following Blish's death in 1975, Lawrence completed his work on the anthology "Star Trek 12" and the novella "Mudd's Angels".
Used also these pen names: Judith Blish, Dr. Frank Freeperson
Used also these pen names: Judith Blish, Dr. Frank Freeperson
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 5, 2024
This book contains adaptations of the last two episodes of the original Star Trek series, the two Harry Mudd episodes (from 1966 and 1967), which were the only ones not to have been adapted to short story form in the twelve-volume series Bantam printed by James Blish and his uncredited-until-after-his-death collaborators, J.A. Lawrence and her mother, Muriel. (In her introduction to the book, she says Blish had begun work on the remaining episodes at the time of his passing, and she completed the stories.) As always, these two final adaptations are good, clear, and faithful reflections of the original teleplays. The third part is an original novella featuring Mudd, called The Business, As Usual, During Altercations. It's a little bit confused but makes an ambitious attempt to bring Harry full circle. There's a time travel aspect and a past lives regression thing that's a bit regrettable, but it was a fun story. It has a few annoying points, like footnotes directing the reader to James Blish books, Spock reacting emotionally too often, and Scotty shifting back-and-forth from having no accent to having such a thick phonetic burr that it's nigh vurra impossible to parse what he's saying. I did like a line on page 129, in which a reference is made to the "...rotten jailbird of the Galaxy," a cute and obvious nod to Roddenberry's famous nickname. The cover of my first printing of the book is an obvious nod to the old show Charlie's Angels; the three women Harry's hugging on the cover in the nifty Bob Larkin painting bear an amazing resemblance to Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith. On the sad side, after the end of the book, there's a page with an ad and order form for other Bantam Star Trek titles with a photograph of the Enterprise over it... and they printed the picture upside down. As a special final bonus bit, I'll close my comments with a quote from Scotty on page 146, which is directed to anyone who thinks Star Trek doesn't teach you facts and intelligent information about how real science and technology is educational for the reader: "We've got the emergency sub-light drive working! That blessed android- she cross linked the inosculator with the control reactor loop and by-passed the actinabulator- " And that, folks, is how you fly a starship!
May 11, 2025
In my endeavor to read through all original Star Trek novels, I now find myself intersecting with the episodic novelizations published by J.A. Lawrence and her late partner James Blish. I must confess I have shied away from these novelizations as a result of my enthusiasm to explore new Trek material, in addition to a general aversion to book adaptations in the first place. Why read a book when the original features the lively performances of the original actors and the charming sound and endearing visuals of the sixties production. Unfortunately, my experience with Mudd’s Angels only served to reaffirm my preconceptions regarding screen-to-text adaptations—for how can one effectively capture the glorious camp and cunning sleaze of Harcourt Fenton Mudd!
Biases aside, Lawrence’s adaptations of Mudd’s Women, and I, Mudd are effective retellings of the original serials. Her portrayals of space and alien planets are picturesque and direct, and the many scenes set on the Enterprise are delightfully tactile, as though we can hear the various beeps and whistles taking place around us. The subject matter does encounter trouble in book form, though so did the original serials. Without the gravitas of Roger C. Carmel, much of the wry manipulation and crudeness filters through without the humour, casting the Enterprise crew as even greater fools than in the show. Of course, their misogyny remains as disappointing and pathetic as ever and gaining extra insight into Bones’ appreciation for the ladies' appearances does little to improve things. In sum, the first half of this book serves as a perfectly serviceable adaptation, yet in comparison to the original serials, it remains considerably lacking.
What makes Mudd’s Angels distinct is its wholly original short story The Business, As Usual, During Altercations written to tie the whole Muddy collection together. Drawing heavily from his previous reckless ventures, Mudd has returned once more with a scheme so astronomically large that it brings the Federation-Romulan-Klingon hostilities to a standstill and propels the Enterprise out into the stellar arms of another galaxy entirely. Lawrence distills the absurd fun of Mudd’s character well, offering a steady stream of charming and bemusing scenes throughout. The image of a steady stream of glittering android women tumbling out from a spaceship’s airlock, cartwheeling through empty space comes to mind. The Enterprise crew was rendered faithfully with the prominent exception of Spock. He wavered prominently between his logical Vulcan self, and a surprisingly emotive science officer. I believe the phrase, “...Spock snorted,” says it all.
Where The Business, As Usual, During Altercations begins to unravel is its rapidly expanding scale. What begins with some familiar dilithium shortages soon evolves into a galactic event of unfathomable scale before abruptly collapsing down for a sudden court-room reprieve. This structural contortionism significantly disrupts the story’s pacing, granting it a harmful directionless quality. Further, the large-scale storytelling oversteps the bounds of a Harry Mudd story, to the point of rendering the entire galaxy incompetent before his powers. Cumulatively, the air of fan-writing lingers as Mudd’s extraordinary endeavors exponentially balloon outward.
The story begins and persists as a result of the pathetic and misogynistic lust of Star Trek’s entire mining population, harkening back to Mudd’s Women. Returning to the bland barren environments of dull mining planets quickly tempers expectations regarding this original story. However, the sweeping preposterous influence left behind by a mysterious charming portly moustached man quickly helps to reignite anticipation. Carmel or not, Mudd remains amusing, at the very least, and the gradual build up to his eventual reveal, punctuated by Kirk’s bubbling exasperation, was fantastic. Yet the story soon draws from the muddy well of I, Mudd and places us back on Mudd’s planet among its half-naked android population once again. To facilitate Mudd’s newfound galactic presence, the ending of that original serial is easily waved away, providing him with greater android-based power than ever before. Lawrence's overreliance on the original serials is disappointing, especially as these elements largely serve to return all to the status quo.
Following the Enterprise’s acquaintance with the android society of the planet Mudd, Harry Mudd soon blasts away, leaving most of the androids behind. Subsequently, the Enterprise follows in pursuit under the guidance of one of the most contrived and bizarre navigators of all time, to the detriment of poor Chekov. The modest technobabble that is usually prevalent in these books steps aside for a moment for some pseudoscience quackery that bursts any and all suspension of disbelief. Hereafter, the Enterprise and Mudd’s game of cat and mouse continues, free from any allusions of grounded science fiction. There is a certain type of freedom associated with this rapid-fire galactic goofiness that is in its own way cathartic. Lawrence uplifts this space chase to such transcendent heights that it is difficult not to lay back and enjoy yourself. But she does not choose to end the story here. Instead, at the journey’s end, Lawrence abruptly attaches an extended epilogue about the evolving android society on Mudd’s planet. Manifesting as a loosely assembled courtroom drama, we’re subjected to a few chapters of detached postulating on the human condition, despite having spent no meaningful time with any of the android characters.
Altogether, The Business, As Usual fails to stand apart from the stories that preceded it. Harry Mudd’s unnatural charm is dulled by the textual medium, and his schemes are entirely too productive for one lone swindler. There are several moments of bombastic joy that rise above the mediocrity, yet the discordant structure shatters the pacing. It appears that poor Harcourt Fenton Mudd is fated to repeat his mistakes in the same ways, for all of eternity.
Biases aside, Lawrence’s adaptations of Mudd’s Women, and I, Mudd are effective retellings of the original serials. Her portrayals of space and alien planets are picturesque and direct, and the many scenes set on the Enterprise are delightfully tactile, as though we can hear the various beeps and whistles taking place around us. The subject matter does encounter trouble in book form, though so did the original serials. Without the gravitas of Roger C. Carmel, much of the wry manipulation and crudeness filters through without the humour, casting the Enterprise crew as even greater fools than in the show. Of course, their misogyny remains as disappointing and pathetic as ever and gaining extra insight into Bones’ appreciation for the ladies' appearances does little to improve things. In sum, the first half of this book serves as a perfectly serviceable adaptation, yet in comparison to the original serials, it remains considerably lacking.
What makes Mudd’s Angels distinct is its wholly original short story The Business, As Usual, During Altercations written to tie the whole Muddy collection together. Drawing heavily from his previous reckless ventures, Mudd has returned once more with a scheme so astronomically large that it brings the Federation-Romulan-Klingon hostilities to a standstill and propels the Enterprise out into the stellar arms of another galaxy entirely. Lawrence distills the absurd fun of Mudd’s character well, offering a steady stream of charming and bemusing scenes throughout. The image of a steady stream of glittering android women tumbling out from a spaceship’s airlock, cartwheeling through empty space comes to mind. The Enterprise crew was rendered faithfully with the prominent exception of Spock. He wavered prominently between his logical Vulcan self, and a surprisingly emotive science officer. I believe the phrase, “...Spock snorted,” says it all.
Where The Business, As Usual, During Altercations begins to unravel is its rapidly expanding scale. What begins with some familiar dilithium shortages soon evolves into a galactic event of unfathomable scale before abruptly collapsing down for a sudden court-room reprieve. This structural contortionism significantly disrupts the story’s pacing, granting it a harmful directionless quality. Further, the large-scale storytelling oversteps the bounds of a Harry Mudd story, to the point of rendering the entire galaxy incompetent before his powers. Cumulatively, the air of fan-writing lingers as Mudd’s extraordinary endeavors exponentially balloon outward.
The story begins and persists as a result of the pathetic and misogynistic lust of Star Trek’s entire mining population, harkening back to Mudd’s Women. Returning to the bland barren environments of dull mining planets quickly tempers expectations regarding this original story. However, the sweeping preposterous influence left behind by a mysterious charming portly moustached man quickly helps to reignite anticipation. Carmel or not, Mudd remains amusing, at the very least, and the gradual build up to his eventual reveal, punctuated by Kirk’s bubbling exasperation, was fantastic. Yet the story soon draws from the muddy well of I, Mudd and places us back on Mudd’s planet among its half-naked android population once again. To facilitate Mudd’s newfound galactic presence, the ending of that original serial is easily waved away, providing him with greater android-based power than ever before. Lawrence's overreliance on the original serials is disappointing, especially as these elements largely serve to return all to the status quo.
Following the Enterprise’s acquaintance with the android society of the planet Mudd, Harry Mudd soon blasts away, leaving most of the androids behind. Subsequently, the Enterprise follows in pursuit under the guidance of one of the most contrived and bizarre navigators of all time, to the detriment of poor Chekov. The modest technobabble that is usually prevalent in these books steps aside for a moment for some pseudoscience quackery that bursts any and all suspension of disbelief. Hereafter, the Enterprise and Mudd’s game of cat and mouse continues, free from any allusions of grounded science fiction. There is a certain type of freedom associated with this rapid-fire galactic goofiness that is in its own way cathartic. Lawrence uplifts this space chase to such transcendent heights that it is difficult not to lay back and enjoy yourself. But she does not choose to end the story here. Instead, at the journey’s end, Lawrence abruptly attaches an extended epilogue about the evolving android society on Mudd’s planet. Manifesting as a loosely assembled courtroom drama, we’re subjected to a few chapters of detached postulating on the human condition, despite having spent no meaningful time with any of the android characters.
Altogether, The Business, As Usual fails to stand apart from the stories that preceded it. Harry Mudd’s unnatural charm is dulled by the textual medium, and his schemes are entirely too productive for one lone swindler. There are several moments of bombastic joy that rise above the mediocrity, yet the discordant structure shatters the pacing. It appears that poor Harcourt Fenton Mudd is fated to repeat his mistakes in the same ways, for all of eternity.
March 31, 2025
I appreciate that the Alices et al get a chance to play with sapience & personhood in the courtroom scene. Spock isn't exactly 'accurately' portrayed but his character does get some chances to shine, in a fun way. Lawrence did a good job... I honestly would be willing to bet Blish didn't actually leave much for her to work with to develop the bonus story.
August 10, 2025
Bizzarro. Scanzonato. Avanguardistico.
April 13, 2025
First two stories are the TV episodes
1. Mudd's Woman by Stephen Kandel. Stardate 1329.1
2. I, Mudd by Stephen Kandel. Stardate 4513.3
3. The Busines, as Usual, During Altercations by J.A. Lawrence. Stardate 6063.5 Due to a dilithium crystal shortfall in a delivery to Starfleet the Enterprise is sent to the planet Muldoon to investigate.
An enjoyable re-read
Star Trek Adventures #5
1. Mudd's Woman by Stephen Kandel. Stardate 1329.1
2. I, Mudd by Stephen Kandel. Stardate 4513.3
3. The Busines, as Usual, During Altercations by J.A. Lawrence. Stardate 6063.5 Due to a dilithium crystal shortfall in a delivery to Starfleet the Enterprise is sent to the planet Muldoon to investigate.
An enjoyable re-read
Star Trek Adventures #5
March 25, 2019
The last of the famous TOS novelizations, MUDD'S ANGELS is the only one not credited to James Blish. After his untimely death, J.A. Lawrence (Blish's widow) stepped up and completed the series by adapting the two "Mudd" episodes. She also composed an original novella to throw into the mix.
The end result is pretty standard TREK fare for the time (1978), back when TREK novels felt more like fan fiction than they did licensed products and were generally only slightly less cheesy than your typical FLASH GORDON adventure.
The two TV adaptations are fine for what they are, but they're almost completely pointless in today's world of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, where you can watch any TREK episode pretty much whenever and wherever you want. Back in the 70s, these adaptations enabled fans to visit or re-visit certain storylines without having to wait an indeterminate period for them to pop back up on TV. VCRs weren't yet a thing, so books were the only way to keep the stories on hand. Back then, these adaptations didn't need to offer TREK fans anything special, they were simply a way to keep the episodes fresh in people's minds. It's interesting, however, to see these Mudd episodes, which I consider to be TREK at its most sexist, be adapted by a female author. And one can view her original novella as an attempt to mitigate that sexism to a large degree. Still, you wouldn't want to loan this book out to any SJWs, that's for sure.
And speaking of the original novella... Like most early TREK fiction, it ambitiously attempts to do something mind-blowing but mostly just comes across as ridiculous. Freed from the constraints of television, TREK writers had a tendency to go hog wild, and J.A. Lawrence was no exception. This particular story interweaves past life regression, time travel, the destruction of a galaxy, and so on and so forth. The manner in which the Enterprise tracks down Mudd's hidden location is pure and utter nonsense, throwing me completely out of the story for a good couple chapters or so. Much of what came later rubbed me the wrong way, too, but the last 20 pages or so managed to wrap everything up in a surprisingly satisfying--though completely unbelievable--way, making me appreciate the story more in retrospect. Another problem is Lawrence's clumsiness in portraying these characters. In her hands, the personality traits we find so endearing on the TV show comes across here as downright obnoxious. And the whole thing ends in a courtroom trial that seems very out of place, not to mention a huge waste of time for Star Fleet officers who doubtlessly have better things to do.
MUDD'S ANGELS is dumb sci-fi masquerading as smart sci-fi, and not the type that has aged well, either. Which isn't to say it doesn't have its charms.
The end result is pretty standard TREK fare for the time (1978), back when TREK novels felt more like fan fiction than they did licensed products and were generally only slightly less cheesy than your typical FLASH GORDON adventure.
The two TV adaptations are fine for what they are, but they're almost completely pointless in today's world of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, where you can watch any TREK episode pretty much whenever and wherever you want. Back in the 70s, these adaptations enabled fans to visit or re-visit certain storylines without having to wait an indeterminate period for them to pop back up on TV. VCRs weren't yet a thing, so books were the only way to keep the stories on hand. Back then, these adaptations didn't need to offer TREK fans anything special, they were simply a way to keep the episodes fresh in people's minds. It's interesting, however, to see these Mudd episodes, which I consider to be TREK at its most sexist, be adapted by a female author. And one can view her original novella as an attempt to mitigate that sexism to a large degree. Still, you wouldn't want to loan this book out to any SJWs, that's for sure.
And speaking of the original novella... Like most early TREK fiction, it ambitiously attempts to do something mind-blowing but mostly just comes across as ridiculous. Freed from the constraints of television, TREK writers had a tendency to go hog wild, and J.A. Lawrence was no exception. This particular story interweaves past life regression, time travel, the destruction of a galaxy, and so on and so forth. The manner in which the Enterprise tracks down Mudd's hidden location is pure and utter nonsense, throwing me completely out of the story for a good couple chapters or so. Much of what came later rubbed me the wrong way, too, but the last 20 pages or so managed to wrap everything up in a surprisingly satisfying--though completely unbelievable--way, making me appreciate the story more in retrospect. Another problem is Lawrence's clumsiness in portraying these characters. In her hands, the personality traits we find so endearing on the TV show comes across here as downright obnoxious. And the whole thing ends in a courtroom trial that seems very out of place, not to mention a huge waste of time for Star Fleet officers who doubtlessly have better things to do.
MUDD'S ANGELS is dumb sci-fi masquerading as smart sci-fi, and not the type that has aged well, either. Which isn't to say it doesn't have its charms.
August 8, 2020
The first two stories were a faithful re-presentation of the two Star Trek episodes featuring Harry Mudd. They were well written and comprised the first 77 pages of the book. Four stars each. The last hundred pages of the book was an original story that was less well written and poorly conceived. Still worse, the characters acted in ways not consistent with their established characters. Ridiculous improbabilities in plot made this story a skimmer. 1.5 stars.
March 29, 2009
I liked this, but then I really enjoyed the character of Mudd in the TV series. My copy has a much better cover, a picture the Mudd character from the series with girls on his arms.
October 25, 2011
I had given up years ago on getting my hands on a copy of this at a decent price. Hooray for swap!
September 18, 2018
This is the final volume of the adaptations of the original Star Trek series television episodes started by James Blish and completed with his wife J.A. Lawrence and mother-in-law Muriel Lawrence. Originally printed under the name Mudd's Angels, this volume consists of J.A. Lawrence's adaptations of the Stephen Kandel teleplays Mudd's Women and I, Mudd, featuring the conman character Harry Mudd. It also includes a lengthy original sequel novella by Lawrence titled The Business, as Usual, During Altercations with all three stories tied together by a preface vignette in which Lawrence portrays herself as a Starfleet officer examining the events.
While the adaptations of the Kandel teleplays are ok and in the same concise no nonsense short story vein as the rest the adaptations by Blish and the Lawrences, the sequel novella is not so good. Too all over the place, over the top and in conflict to some extent with Star Trek canon. A must nevertheless for the collector.
While the adaptations of the Kandel teleplays are ok and in the same concise no nonsense short story vein as the rest the adaptations by Blish and the Lawrences, the sequel novella is not so good. Too all over the place, over the top and in conflict to some extent with Star Trek canon. A must nevertheless for the collector.
August 15, 2021
"The Business, as Usual, During Altercations " was written by J.A. Lawrence after Blish passed away and tacked on to the two Harry Mudd episodes in Mudd's Angels (Lawrence casts herself as the Star Fleet interrogator in charge of debriefing Kirk and crew on Mudd's schemes). The novella has a very strange title for a Star Trek adventure, and while the style is fun and comedic, I can't say much for the plot. It's a big runaround with just too many things happening. You have a rookie psycho-historian acting as special guest star, Uhura working with android versions of herself, a galaxy exploding, Kirk almost being drummed out of the service, a discussion on android rights à la Measure of a Man, Chekov hypnotized into remembering a past life as a Tartar, and a huge trial that deals with a paradox. All good ideas (ok, maybe not the Tartar thing), but each gets short shrift in this. And yet, it's still perfectly diverting, with good humor and pleasant characters (even Mudd).
December 31, 2022
To start with the positives: the adaptations of the two Harry Mudd stories are good fun and do what all the other stories adapted by James Blish set out to do. The second half of the book is an entertaining read but it is a bit of a mess. The biggest issue is that it changes tack far too often to be comprehensible. If it was a full-length novel it would be much less of an issue but since it covers about 100 pages it just feels like a mess: the time travel plot isn’t really suitably resolved, the court case at the end is a mess of cliches from Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Perry Mason… it just feels like a bunch of ideas that would have worked adequately on their own but combined together it’s just undisciplined and silly.
September 30, 2023
Oh, oh no. No. No no. No, oh no. No.
That's for whatever that third story was trying to be. Good heavens, no. The first two streamlined summaries of the original Harry Mudd stories are just fine. The new adventure ... no.
Afterward, in the advertisement section (my edition does not have Uhura on the cover), Bantam advertises, in all sincerity, other 1970s Star Trek books underneath an upside-down Enterprise. Somehow, it fits.
That's for whatever that third story was trying to be. Good heavens, no. The first two streamlined summaries of the original Harry Mudd stories are just fine. The new adventure ... no.
Afterward, in the advertisement section (my edition does not have Uhura on the cover), Bantam advertises, in all sincerity, other 1970s Star Trek books underneath an upside-down Enterprise. Somehow, it fits.
July 3, 2022
Hard to believe I have been able to spend my entire life loving the Star Trek universe and one of the main fun characters of course is Harry Mudd. This book brought again his shenanigans to life. The first two stories are the two episodes from the original series. The last one was a new creation. I loved all three.
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February 22, 2020Three stories featuring Harry Mudd: "Mudd's Women", which adapts the episode of the same name written by Stephen Kandel; "I, Mudd", which again adapts the like-titled episode; and "The Business, as Usual, during Altercations", an original story by Lawrence.
Since the first two aren't originals, I'll leave aside discussing them, except to say that the adaptations are competent, like any of the better Blish novelizations (which were, apparently, often written by Lawrence as well).
The final story features a galaxy-wide shortage of dilithium crystals. Since these are necessary for spaceflight, this is a serious emergency, so the Enterprise, as well as all other available ships, are sent to investigate.
It hardly need be said that Harry Mudd turns out to be behind the shortage. In broad terms, the Enterprise searches for him, chases him around, eventually apprehends him, and returns him to face justice.
Notably, the story features discussion of whether androids (particularly those in "I, Mudd") count as 'alive' enough to have rights, or to join the Federation as a self-governing society. This question would get similar attention in TNG's The Measure of a Man. Of course, "I, Mudd" wasn't the only time we saw humanlike androids which might have raised this question. At least "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Requiem for Methuselah" are relevant, off the top of my head.
There are some issues with the plot--particularly, it's simply unbelievable that the dilithium shortage could have reached such a critical stage galaxy-wide before anyone noticed, and the final resolution was simply too convenient. Still, it was enjoyable enough.
Honestly, the thing I like best about the book is that it finally marks the end of the TOS and TAS adaptations I have to read (though the adaptation of the movie is coming up shortly). After twelve books by James Blish and ten by Alan Dean Foster, I'm pretty well sick of TV novelizations. Onward, I hope, to better things.
Since the first two aren't originals, I'll leave aside discussing them, except to say that the adaptations are competent, like any of the better Blish novelizations (which were, apparently, often written by Lawrence as well).
The final story features a galaxy-wide shortage of dilithium crystals. Since these are necessary for spaceflight, this is a serious emergency, so the Enterprise, as well as all other available ships, are sent to investigate.
It hardly need be said that Harry Mudd turns out to be behind the shortage. In broad terms, the Enterprise searches for him, chases him around, eventually apprehends him, and returns him to face justice.
Notably, the story features discussion of whether androids (particularly those in "I, Mudd") count as 'alive' enough to have rights, or to join the Federation as a self-governing society. This question would get similar attention in TNG's The Measure of a Man. Of course, "I, Mudd" wasn't the only time we saw humanlike androids which might have raised this question. At least "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Requiem for Methuselah" are relevant, off the top of my head.
There are some issues with the plot--particularly, it's simply unbelievable that the dilithium shortage could have reached such a critical stage galaxy-wide before anyone noticed, and the final resolution was simply too convenient. Still, it was enjoyable enough.
Honestly, the thing I like best about the book is that it finally marks the end of the TOS and TAS adaptations I have to read (though the adaptation of the movie is coming up shortly). After twelve books by James Blish and ten by Alan Dean Foster, I'm pretty well sick of TV novelizations. Onward, I hope, to better things.
July 7, 2020
The first two stories (Mudd's Women and I Mudd are both Star Trek episodes condensed to story format) the Last story The business as usual during altercations was written for this book
not a bad read just wish it was what the title says it is instead or 2 stories basied on episodes .
not a bad read just wish it was what the title says it is instead or 2 stories basied on episodes .
June 9, 2018
Standard adaption of the shows. The short story at the end was interesting. Over all I enjoyed the book.
September 13, 2020
This book is a collection of Harry Mudd stories. The first two are adaptations from televised TOS Episodes. The third one is an original story featuring Harry.
June 7, 2023
Fine novelisation of The Original Series Mudd episodes. The third story is an original novella that is entertaining and would make for an enjoyable episode itself.
January 24, 2026
Click here for my review: https://greatbooksguy.com/2026/01/22/...
October 6, 2022
i enjoyed it for what it was; a retelling of some funny episodes with an extra little comical story at the end. just take it at its face value, friends. its funny.
October 11, 2014
First off I'm not a big Star Trek fan, I don't dislike it hence I read the book but all that colonising and peace and federations seems a bit 'New World Order' for my liking.
However I am aware of the main characters and plot of the seies/films enough to find that this was an easy enough book to read and enjoyable too, apparently the first two tales where part of the TV Series with the third being a probable bit of work.
The first two tales dfon't really add to the one dimensional view I had of the charcters prior to reading the book and for me this was just as well, as an introduction to Star Trek literature a complex piece full of Kirk contemplating life might have been too much!
The third tale is the longest and does add a bit more to the charcters and plot though in truth it was the tale I enjoyed least and might have lost the book a star.
All in all though not a bad read and I am likely to read some more within the Star Trek series over time given I picked up a load for 20p each at a charity shop.
However I am aware of the main characters and plot of the seies/films enough to find that this was an easy enough book to read and enjoyable too, apparently the first two tales where part of the TV Series with the third being a probable bit of work.
The first two tales dfon't really add to the one dimensional view I had of the charcters prior to reading the book and for me this was just as well, as an introduction to Star Trek literature a complex piece full of Kirk contemplating life might have been too much!
The third tale is the longest and does add a bit more to the charcters and plot though in truth it was the tale I enjoyed least and might have lost the book a star.
All in all though not a bad read and I am likely to read some more within the Star Trek series over time given I picked up a load for 20p each at a charity shop.
February 23, 2017
This book contains the novelization of two Harry Mudd episodes of Star Trek:TOS. Mudd's Women and I, Mudd were telecast in 1966 and 1967 respectively.
Also included is an original Mudd story that was written by J. A. Lawrence. It is really a sequel to the I, Mudd episode as it takes off from where the telecast ends. Having been left on a planet peopled androids Mudd is able to build any army of slave women that help him escape the planet. Upon leaving his exile behind, Mudd is able to corner the market on dylithium crystals which has the Federation, the Klingon and Romulan empires in a bad place. Kirk and the Enterprise crew are tasked with finding out what is going on.
The novelizations, in the tradition of James Blish, are well done. And the original story "The Business, As Usual, During Altercations" is well written but not exceptional. But the new story is good enough that it could have been used as a Star Trek episode had the TV series survived. All in all not a bad read, just not the best.
Also included is an original Mudd story that was written by J. A. Lawrence. It is really a sequel to the I, Mudd episode as it takes off from where the telecast ends. Having been left on a planet peopled androids Mudd is able to build any army of slave women that help him escape the planet. Upon leaving his exile behind, Mudd is able to corner the market on dylithium crystals which has the Federation, the Klingon and Romulan empires in a bad place. Kirk and the Enterprise crew are tasked with finding out what is going on.
The novelizations, in the tradition of James Blish, are well done. And the original story "The Business, As Usual, During Altercations" is well written but not exceptional. But the new story is good enough that it could have been used as a Star Trek episode had the TV series survived. All in all not a bad read, just not the best.
July 12, 2012
Triple Mudd fun.
The first two parts (bout a half of this book) are novelizations of the two TOS Mudd episodes (the TAS Mudd episode had to be left out due to copyright issues, introduction says), but even if you saw them and don't normally read novelizations, they're well written and entertaining.
The third part of the book is a short novel based of a third Mudd script that was never made into an episode due to the series cancellation. It's fun too, interesting and Mudd's character is very well written, although I would have preferred a somewhat different ending, as Mudd was one of my favorite guest characters.
The first two parts (bout a half of this book) are novelizations of the two TOS Mudd episodes (the TAS Mudd episode had to be left out due to copyright issues, introduction says), but even if you saw them and don't normally read novelizations, they're well written and entertaining.
The third part of the book is a short novel based of a third Mudd script that was never made into an episode due to the series cancellation. It's fun too, interesting and Mudd's character is very well written, although I would have preferred a somewhat different ending, as Mudd was one of my favorite guest characters.
May 24, 2010
[These notes were made in 1982:]. An adaptation of the two Mudd episodes of the series, plus about the same again in an original Mudd story. I always found these particular episodes particularly light stuff, and J.A. Lawrence (who, I feel, is really carrying out a literary bequest - she's James Blish's widow -rather than being a hard-core Trekkie) has kept the tone even and amusing and insubstantial. The last half deals with time-travel, which I find rather a disturbing subject, but it neatly ignores the philosophical issues.
December 19, 2011
I totally admit that I bought this one solely for the cover, but it ended up being a pretty entertaining collection of science fiction stories. This book includes two stories based on Star Trek episodes featuring the con-artist character of Harry Mudd and an original novella featuring Mudd and the familiar cast of Star Trek characters. Not being a trekkie myself, I can't say how faithful the stories are to the series, but setting aside a few overly enthusiastic characterizations (Scotty's brogue, Spock's raised eyebrow), the stories are entertaining and the cover continues to be awesome.
October 13, 2023
Very fun framing that I'll definitely be using myself in fanfiction (the author insert as storyteller really worked here). Dropped star is for the increasingly absurdly fatphobic descriptions of Mudd, like his size was a reflection of his character. There was definitely some uncomfortable sexism also, but at least that was only in line with what happens in the TV show canon.
November 24, 2013
The two Harry Mudd episodes are adapted into prose, charmingly, followed by a 100-page original Mudd novella that involves time paradoxes. OK, but slight. This book is the de facto "Star Trek 13," after James Blish's 12 books adapting all the other original Trek episodes.
Want to read
October 12, 2014James Blish died while writing this book, but it has been said to contain final original series adaptions: after Star Trek 12
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