Perry's Planet

Star Trek Adventures #13

by Jack C. Haldeman II

Captain Kirk is not worried about this mission—a diplomatic jaunt to the planet Perry—until he discovers that Perry's megalomaniac leader is still in power.

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

132 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1980

About the author

Jack Carroll "Jay" Haldeman II was an American biologist and science-fiction writer. He was the older brother of SF writer Joe Haldeman. He was married to writer Barbara Delaplace.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perry's Planet is a relatively early (1980) Star Trek novel that came out shortly after the first film (you know, the one everyone called The Motionless Picture). We didn't call it a TOS story in those days because there was only one, and few dreamed there'd be a next generation, much less several of them. It was written by Jack Haldeman, Joe's brother, who was nowhere near as well known for his writing as for his activites in sf fandom. He co-chaired the 1974 WorldCon, the most enjoyable one I ever attended, and one of several sly recursive fannish references in this book is the name of the Starfleet Admiral character, Larry Propp, who co-chaired the 1982 WorldCon. It's a fine, typical Trek adventure that might well have made a good television episode. Unfortunately, the cover gives away one of the big plot points, but what're ya gonna do? Sometimes, you give a peace a chance and it doesn't work... those pesky Klingons... thank goodness for Scotty!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the Bantam series of Star Trek books, some written by pro SF authors. This one is from 1980 and I don't think this series continued after this point. It's a nice little Star Trek story with the Klingons out to get Kirk and the crew exploring a new planet, one which was colonized by Earthlings who got isolated from the rest of humanity. It would have made a decent third season show --- I know that's kind of an insult as the third season was the weakest as well as the last of ST: TOS. Kirk seems weak in this story and Spock does not stand out as he does in the better ST novels. This is a good Scotty story. Scotty was always too underused!

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Star Trek out there...

[Lyndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, actually. Review coming later this week.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an early Star Trek novel, yet one of the last published by Bantam. The story and its character portrayals were rather typical Original Series and could have been used as a basis for any script of one of the less popular shows from that series. The story creates some suspense and the solution to one of the problems raised by the plot, namely how to deal with the Klingons' attack, was clever and well handled. However, the book gets demoted from four stars to three for two main flaws: 1) the author's seeming complete ignorance of the Prime Directive. This was especially egregious when Kirk freely offered the transfer of technology as a benefit for joining the Federation. 2) the author's out-of-date view of women. The author's world view was clearly formed in the 1950s on the subject of "girls". The revolutions that occurred in the 1960's and 1970's apparently had no effect whatsoever on Jack C. Haldeman II. This goes against one of the primary tenets of the Original Series and what made it so groundbreaking. For example, Uhura's willingness to discard her Star Fleet career if only the right man were to come along, and Dr. McCoy's evaluation of Kelly Davis as an "absolutely fantastic doctor" being possible mostly because of McCoy's sexual interest and Davis' reply "I'll bet you say that to all the girls" is just too painfully antiquated to silently overlook as one tries to extend the benefit of the doubt to this author. Still, a Trek fan will find this book an easy one to read and enjoy one afternoon.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, but basically a variation of stuff we've seen a million times before. The author needlessly clutters up the TREK universe by introducing new characters instead of relying on familiar ones, and he hinges the plot on a major event in Kirk's past that the book hardly even touches upon, let alone explores. Spock seems capable of handling everything completely on his own, whereas the rest of the crew comes off as dead weight. Especially Kirk, who spends most of the book demanding to be brought up to speed on everything. Scotty and McCoy each find a moment to shine, but they're the exceptions. Uhura simply gets kidnapped, Chekov almost has a nervous breakdown, and Sulu scuffles with a fellow crew member on shore leave.
Good thing Spock is there to carry the team!

[Matthew Goode Ⓥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it was okay. I found it exciting enough simply because it's a Star Trek book, but the ending seemed a little clunky, and the insistence that humans are have at their core a struggle of good and evil is just too tired and uninteresting for me (and not something that really strikes a cord). Also, some parts were just too unbelievable (the amount of time taken for the virus to spread from Scotty for one). I've read a Star Trek book by Jack's brother Joe, and that was a lot better, which sort of makes me sad, as Jack must feel a little second rate. Having said that, it is enjoyable enough, and an easy to consume read. If you have access to a copy, you won't go wrong if you read it.

[Taaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zwischendurch lustig, aber eben ein vollkommen unlogisches Grundsetting.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad novel, though it had some flaws. Could easily have been an episode. Read the first two chapters at odd times over the last two weeks, finished it today - it's a quick read.

All of the major cast members are represented here, with McCoy and Scotty given some spotlight time. The author writes Kirk to phone in the performance, perhaps because the major thing he responds to is a serious MacGuffin. Even the ships failing Dilithium Crystals make an appearance in this relatively short story.

The MacGuffin is a Klingon captain who has gone rogue, somehow able to bypass the Organians and call for vengeance on the man who killed his brother, Kirk. They've also got some gizmo that allows them to baffle the Enterprise sensors - all of which is neatly tied up in a bow in the last few pages. Meh.

The planet story is much better, even if it is largely a rehash of Return of the Archons. The cover, on my paperback anyhow, gives away the ending, which is unfortunate. The real props go to Spock, who could essentially run the whole episode by himself. I know he's the superman of Star Trek, but this book is a bit over the top.

That's how a decent story gets knocked down to 3 of 5 stars for me. It was supposed to be the 12th book of my 2022 "Star Trek books" challenge from WorldsWithoutEnd. I do plan to finish out the Bantam Trek line this year - probably in the next few months.

[Matthew Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older star trek adventure from the 70s. It's a short tale that us entertaining in the style of a classic tos episode and can be finished in a single sitting

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stardate 6827.3. The weary crew of the Enterprise are sent on a diplomatic mission to plant Perry. But soon the suspicions of the landing crew are raised. Then the Klingons arrive in orbit.
An entertaining re-read
Star Trek Adventures 4

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the first novels based on the original Star Trek series, and while it has many of the characteristics of the following books in the series, there is a difference. The later books have tighter storylines as the authors and editors perfected the formula.
In this book, a Klingon ship whose captain is on a blood vendetta against Kirk attacks an Enterprise with a tired crew. The Enterprise easily beats off the attack, but the Klingons also plant a device that wrecks havoc in the transporter room. Kirk and company are then called on to respond to a request by a planet to start the process of joining the Federation.
Not everything in the planet is at it appears to be, as there are some unusual anomalies. While the leaders claim there is no violence, in fact there is, but the people do not notice it. The planet is actually ruled by a computer interfaced with Wayne Perry, the leader of the group that colonized the planet centuries ago. Perry’s image is resurrected by the computer as a solid hologram when problems erupt.
I found this story, which is essentially another one about berserk computers that take over a society, to be rather dull. The subplot regarding the Klingons was almost a distraction rather than an improvement. The manner in which the device was planted in the transporter was never resolved and stating that it was a simple device was unconvincing. A virus that prevents a person from committing violence and acts instantaneously on humans and Klingons exceeds my believability index.

This review also appears on Amazon

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short adventure about the original cast of Star Trek. Captain Kirk has made an enemy of the Klingon, Korol, who has sworn a blood oath after the death of his brother at Kirk's hands. But the crew of the Enterprise are in no fit state to deal with them, as, overdue for shore leave and with a ship in need of maintenance, it is enough just to get on with the day to day routines. Then a call comes in from Perry's Planet,a 300 year old colony that wants to join the Federation. At first it is ideal, as the crew can enjoy some shore leave and Kirk can inroduce another culture to his world, but then things start to go wrong. The colony leader, reputibly over 300 years old himself, is keeping secrets, but is it all to do with the total lack of violence and anger that they find?

This was great and read just like an episode of the TV series. It was a bit obvious, especially if you are fan anyway, but it was still entertaining and the story was fleshed out a lot more than some adaptations. I especially loved Scooty's solution to the Klingon problem ... has me smiling for ages.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay Trek novel with some good characterization, I'd have to say that it kind of fails on the utopia/dystopia scale. Much of it was a bit unbelievable by TV science fiction standards, being more along the lines of a children's show than an adult program. I will say that it was a more franchise-cohesive read than a quite a few of the Bantam original novels, with a good use of the original characters and a few new ones.

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty bad rehash of Return of the Archons where they don't learn their lesson from the last time an all-powerful computer posing as the local god (or original colonist) and their Perfect Society™ with no violence whatsoever and a half-thought of Klingon threat really wasn't worth reading at all but at least it was quick.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

another good writer heard from. Joe's brother.
The Enterprise investigate a planet colonized 300 years before. No violence, not even a thought of it. Except for the Immunes.

[Reuben Herfindahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic and short, but is fairly true to the original series. Could have been an episode of the third season.

[JR Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was, meh. Early "fan fiction" at it's "finest?" It was a little bit of brain candy in between more substantial reads.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, good heavens. It's unfair, of course, (and unhelpful) to say, "at least it's no S+M Phoenix story," as that's akin to saying, "at least it's not twisting an ankle." This is not a good Star Trek story not because Jack intentionally twists the characters to be what he wants them to be (like S+M most assuredly do) but because Jack has no idea who these characters are, what the Star Trek universe is, and only a tenuous grasp on storytelling.

Good grief, the intrusive narrator declarations! "And that was the mistake that ruined it all." "But McCoy would soon learn he wouldn't do it." Praise be, at least he didn't say "Little did he know..." C'mon, Jack, just tell a story. Preferably not one with Kirk petulantly throwing a hissy fit every single scene he is in, not knowing anything about science, history, medicine, technology and acting like no one is paying any attention to him, simply when they're just doing their jobs.

The premise is nonsense...wait, let me clarify. The opening scene setting is fine, possibly more than adequate, almost bordering on interesting, in fact: the Enterprise has been on a tough mission for awhile, nerves are wearing thin, dilithium crystals are running low (sure, whatever). Suddenly a Klingon attack ups the ante for the ship and Kirk personally, as some Klingon has a blood feud only he and his priest know about and now Kirk's on notice. Fine, sure. We have no connection to this guy and his anger, but at least Jack's creating new characters and it makes sense Kirk would have killed some Klingon awhile ago before the Organians put the kibosh on things.

But then the nonsense strides into the room, slaps everyone in the face, and acts like it's our fault. Starfleet knows the Enterprise is in rough shape; they (Starfleet brass, obvs) know they are due for shore leave after a months-long high-stress mission; they know the Enterprise was just snuck-attacked by a Klingon ship with the ability to ignore shields! and that has a personal vendetta against Kirk. Knowing all that, Starfleet sends the Enterprise to a planet that has expressed mild interest in possibly joining the UFP. This is not a "new worlds, new civilizations" planet, oh no. It's an old Earth colony from three hundred years ago in no particular hurry or zeal to join the UFP. But Starfleet needs to send the dilapidated Enterprise to put their best foot forward, even if it's in a cast and the people can't be bothered to care anyway. Nonsense. And it goes downhill from there.

As with all these '70s Bantam books, it may have been a welcome oasis, howsoever muddy, in the seemingly unending desert of no more Star Trek, even after the animated series and the motion picture (though Jack may have written this one before the movie came out), so from that direction, it was likely easier to enjoy (or forgive), but from this direction, it's hard to enjoy or appreciate (which is a great luxury, having so much more ST to enjoy in its stead - I acknowledge that freely).

[Kyle Trimper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirteenth in the first series of original novels based on Star Trek: by this time the novels were starting to settle in to some resemblance of the series episodes, the characters were starting to resemble their on-screen counterparts and the overall quality of the installments was improving.

This go round, the Enterprise, long overdue for repairs and leave, is ordered to a colonial planet on a diplomatic mission: on arrival, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are surprised to note that a computer construct of the colony's original founder is still running the planet's government. The crew is furthermore alarmed to discover that they have a contracted a condition endemic to the planet in which violent action results in an acute loss of bodily function for the instigating party, at the same time that the Enterprise is engaged in combat with a Klingon who has a personal vendetta with Kirk.

While the plot doesn't contain any big shocks or developments like Spock Must Die, Spock Messiah and Price Of The Phoenix, it avoids the Spock-sploitation, Kirk/Spock slash erotica and some of the dull or un-Star Trek like stories of the previous novels. This one could easily, with some paring down, been an episode of the Original Series, which is high praise given the uneven quality of the Bantam series of original novels. This is middle-of-the-road Star Trek, by all means, but anyone who has slogged through some of the other novels will find Perry's Planet mildly refreshing.

[Solitairerose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perry’s Planet is a Star Trek novel from a time when all we had was the original TV series. Star Trek novels came out much less often in the 70’s and early 80’s, and they were also shorter than the novels that came after Pocket Books started their series in the 80’s. This book by Jack Haldeman reads as if it is an adaptation of an episode of the original series that was never produced and fits perfectly into the original series.

The plot is fairly simple, The Enterprise comes to an Earth colony where no violence is allowed, and they quickly learn this is due to a fast moving virus that shuts the body down when violence is attempted. The author also throws in an Enterprise in need of repair, a Klingon ship seeking vengeance against Captain Kirk, and a question about the interface of man and machine. This is not a novel for deep thinking, and has a couple of scenes that come off a bit silly, but all in all, it takes the concept and the characters seriously and tells a solid Star Trek story.

This is a professionally written tie-in novel that gets that characters and universe right, plays fair with the reader, and has the same sort of ethical issue conflagrated into a plot point as Star Trek did during its first run. It’s a fun read, but not much more, and for fans of old school Star Trek who are in need of a couple hours to be in that world.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't great. I will say I appreciated that it zipped along at pace, and I very much enjoyed Dr. McCoy and the guest doctor Davis, but it's full of plot holes. (How does the virus spread so instantaneously between species? How do the people of Perry's Planet not see violence, until the end confrontation when Ami miraculously does? How is Scotty's accent so inconsistent?)

The curious thing about it is the prose, though. It seems to change a few chapters in. Close to the beginning, I wondered if I'd stumbled into a children's book by mistake - very simple sentences, and a strong tendency to short and uncomplicated words. By the end of the book the phrasing and vocabulary seemed far more sophisticated. I don't know if there was a change in editor partway through, or if someone else had input on the first few chapters in some way, but the difference caught my attention.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

From February 1980, Jack Haldeman's "Perry's Planet" has one of the more unique titles in early Trek fiction and a plot that's actually decent for the era. In this story, the crew of the Enterprise come across a world where peace is the answer to everything and this co-existence in harmony seems almost too good to be true; however, when the reality of what is actually happening to the people of the title planet a darker side to things emerges including a sub-plot that has a Klingon captain who has a blood oath against Kirk. Haldeman's story is one of the better ones written from this time period of Trek novels and is also one of the shortest print novels out there. The plot is totally believable through the end with enough twists and turns along the way to keep things believable and on track.

[Reesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, episode-like read, but with uninspired, childish writing, multiple out of character moments, and cover art that spoils the "twist" before the book is even opened. (Admittedly, this last is the fault of the publisher, not the author.)

The novel is so short at 132 pages that it should easily be read in a couple of hours. It took me several days to get through, just because the quality of the writing had me rolling my eyes so often. Nearly every chapter ends with some melodramatic half-sentence about sealed fates or pure evil or the ever ominous "It had started."

It isn't an offensive book, it just isn't a good one.

[Jason Fawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an actually fairly decent early Star Trek novel; it's very short, like all the Bantams, and doesn't have access to the familiar lore developed in the subsequent decades, and the prose is basic.
It does however provide stuff for the all the cast to do - including Nurse Chapel - have a non obnoxious female guest on the crew, and a story line with a very TOS flavour.
It does feel rushed, situations are created, and quickly solved or moved past, sometimes on the same page.
If you're familiar with this era of Trek Lit, you know what you're getting, and this, for me, is the best one I've read.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% recommend : 100% relevant to now. Kirk solves the problem with the salve of morality; Bones uses the same salve with added compassion ; Spock with dedication and sacrifice ; Scotty with intuition ; Uhura and Doctor Kelly Davis with research and bravery. BONUS ; the wrap up ending is done with exuberant joy . ... i may have bought the last one off my books store ( Thrift Books dot com) to send to my Grand Daughter Mo ...."Perry's Planet" by Jack. C. Haldeman II

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

LOL. Dammit. I waited like two weeks to write a review, and I've now realized that while I originally put writing this off because I was pretty underwhelmed, it's now been long enough that I don't remember a damn thing about it. There's a planet called Perry's Planet, and -- OH RIGHT, it's another one of those where they get hit with a no-violence whammy and they have to deal with that. And then Klingons attack! Ahhh!

It's all fairly silly, and I did not find it engaging.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice set up, but lackluster climax. There is a particular ‘force’ that keeps Perry’s Planet all docile and homey. The residents seem to come off sort of like a slightly stereotypical community of Space Amish. Also, the ‘force’ acts too fast, especially near the end of the story. The book was good to while away an otherwise lazy afternoon, but I don’t think I’ll ever reread it.

[Peter Rydén · Rating 4 out of 5]

En kort bok på 132 sidor. Den gav ett gott intryck och tog upp frågor som den om total fred är möjlig eller eftertraktad, eller om den bara skulle förslava befolkningar på ett nytt sätt och inte gör den redo för andra faror än den från andra arter. Helt klart en bok som jag kan rekommendera, även om den har några år på nacken (ursprungligen utgiven 1980 och återutgiven 1996).

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reads like the novelization of an unmade episode. It gets by on its easy characterization of the regulars and a very interesting plot, but some of the details are very sixties in their attitudes...which is ironic for a novel written at the dawn of the 1980s. Nothing spectacular, but a diverting way to spend an afternoon.