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Star Trek #4
Star Trek 4
The fourth volume of Star Trek: The Original Series episode novelizations. Includes the following stories: "All Our Yesterdays," "The Devil In The Dark," "Journey To Babel," "The Menagerie," "The Enterprise Incident," and "A Piece Of The Action."
(from the book jacket)
SIX ASSIGNMENTS IN SPACE AND TIME
In the name of the Federation Council and the Starfleet Command, Spock and the Enterprise crew grapple with:
- A Silicon-Based Monster
- An Interplanetary Spy
- An Amorous Amazon
- A Misguided Mobster "Boss"
- A Time-Jumping Technician
- And the Mind-Enslaving Elders of Talos IV, in the "Hugo" Award-Winning Episode "Menagerie."
(from the book jacket)
SIX ASSIGNMENTS IN SPACE AND TIME
In the name of the Federation Council and the Starfleet Command, Spock and the Enterprise crew grapple with:
- A Silicon-Based Monster
- An Interplanetary Spy
- An Amorous Amazon
- A Misguided Mobster "Boss"
- A Time-Jumping Technician
- And the Mind-Enslaving Elders of Talos IV, in the "Hugo" Award-Winning Episode "Menagerie."
134 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1971
12 people are currently reading
502 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
454 books327 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 14, 2023
This is the fourth volume in which Blish adapted episodes of the original Star Trek series into short story format. He adopted a very straightforward and dry style throughout the book series to present the stories as they were originally presented on screen. He was aided by both his wife and her mother to some uncredited and unclear extent in the later books due to his failing health and the hurried nature of the publishing schedule. One of the stories in this one, The Menagerie, has been significantly changed for the print form, and Blish includes an interesting explanation and notes about it, but the others seem to me to be quite accurately transcribed. The other five stories are All Our Yesterdays, The Devil in the Dark, Journey to Babel, The Enterprise Incident, and A Piece of the Action. They're fun, fast recaps.
May 2, 2011
James Blish books are like chocolate: I think, I'll have a nibble. Then I have another nibble. Shortly there-after I find that I've consumed the entire bar (or book) and immediately start searching for another. James Blish is particularly good when I'm ill or feeling down; it's easy to read yet thought provoking. If I really don't want to think, then it's usually a rollicking adventure story, too.
I've read nigh-on everything else Blish wrote, leaving the Star Trek books to last because I thought they could not be as good as his independent material. It turns out they aren't, but they are still fun and enjoyable and distinctively Blish who seems to have, Zen-like, mastered Style - No Style in his writing. So this is like slightly cheaper chocolate, Cadbury's milk chocolate, rather than dark Cote D'Or or Lindt. But it's still chocolate...is there any more?
I've read nigh-on everything else Blish wrote, leaving the Star Trek books to last because I thought they could not be as good as his independent material. It turns out they aren't, but they are still fun and enjoyable and distinctively Blish who seems to have, Zen-like, mastered Style - No Style in his writing. So this is like slightly cheaper chocolate, Cadbury's milk chocolate, rather than dark Cote D'Or or Lindt. But it's still chocolate...is there any more?
March 26, 2024
The television series of STAR TREK episodes continues with the fourth book of science fiction stories. One doesn’t need to be a fan of the series to understand all the adventures of the good ship Enterprise, but it doesn’t hurt.
Ready to face any danger the solar sphere could thrust at them, they ranged to the outer limits of experience looking for adventure.
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
A large star is going to nova soon but there is a planet within its system which might be inhabited. Although the Enterprise’s sensors do not pick up any sign of life, they sense a force so Kirk and crew decide to check it out. Upon beaming down, the officers discover a solitary man who refers to himself as, “The Librarian”. It turns out he is there to send the planet’s inhabitants (now all gone) to whatever portal they decide upon for themselves. The Librarian is a bit too devoted to his job however and sends Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to different eras and environments. Somehow, they must get back to the Library before the planet blows apart.
THE DEVIL IN THE DARK
The planet Janus harbors a much-needed metal-like plutonium called pergium so the Enterprise swings by for a visit. The colony has never had a problem before but now more than fifty people have vanished and Kirk and company have to figure out what’s happening or the Federation will lose a source of pergium. They quickly surmise that a creature called a Horta has been disrupting everything to save itself and its offspring. Spock will need to do a mind-meld to begin communications between monster and human. This story anticipates the destruction that occurs to the environment and to other creatures when industrialization destroys nature.
JOURNEY TO BABEL
The Enterprise has been assigned to collect a group of ambassadors for an interplanetary conference. Spock’s parents represent the Vulcan delegation, which means Kirk’s first officer may be too worried about his family to focus on his job. But there is much worse to worry about, for there is a saboteur aboard and Kirk must find the culprit. He may lose his life before order is restored!
THE MENAGERIE
This episode included portions of the show’s original pilot, featuring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. It was later combined with a new story surrounding Spock’s court-martial and was the only two-parter in the series. The pilot was used for flashbacks and was highly effective in showing Spock’s loyalty. In review, Pike ends up being trapped on a planet where beings with massive heads communicate telepathically. He is tortured as part of a plan by the advanced beings to determine the characteristics of humans. It’s the equivalent of how humans treat animals in a zoo.
THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT
Captain Kirk is given sealed orders which he must also hide from his own officers. Worse, it means the Enterprise must disobey interplanetary law and trespass into the Romulan Zone. The Romulans capture Kirk and decide he acted on his own. But it’s Spock who most interests them as they try to get him to turn traitor. The Vulcans and Romulans shared a common ancestor, but the Vulcans chose peace and logic while the Romulans chose violence and gain. This episode serves to show the Federation as the United States, the Klingons as the USSR, and the Romulans as China.
A PIECE OF THE ACTION
One hundred years before the Enterprise began its journey, another ship, the Horizon, connected with a faraway planet. But the Horizon was lost after contact was made and Kirk and crew must determine what is happening with the current denizens of the planet. It seems the inhabitants are very curious and very imitative, to the point that they have used historical records from the Horizon to learn about the Roaring 1920s in Chicago. It’s Al Capone and gang warfare which the Enterprise officers must curtail to be successful in their mission.
It was interesting reading these as I had forgotten some of these episodes, but the short stories made them alive again. I always feel sorry for the Red Shirts.
Book Season = Year Round (phasers on stun)
Ready to face any danger the solar sphere could thrust at them, they ranged to the outer limits of experience looking for adventure.
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
A large star is going to nova soon but there is a planet within its system which might be inhabited. Although the Enterprise’s sensors do not pick up any sign of life, they sense a force so Kirk and crew decide to check it out. Upon beaming down, the officers discover a solitary man who refers to himself as, “The Librarian”. It turns out he is there to send the planet’s inhabitants (now all gone) to whatever portal they decide upon for themselves. The Librarian is a bit too devoted to his job however and sends Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to different eras and environments. Somehow, they must get back to the Library before the planet blows apart.
THE DEVIL IN THE DARK
The planet Janus harbors a much-needed metal-like plutonium called pergium so the Enterprise swings by for a visit. The colony has never had a problem before but now more than fifty people have vanished and Kirk and company have to figure out what’s happening or the Federation will lose a source of pergium. They quickly surmise that a creature called a Horta has been disrupting everything to save itself and its offspring. Spock will need to do a mind-meld to begin communications between monster and human. This story anticipates the destruction that occurs to the environment and to other creatures when industrialization destroys nature.
JOURNEY TO BABEL
The Enterprise has been assigned to collect a group of ambassadors for an interplanetary conference. Spock’s parents represent the Vulcan delegation, which means Kirk’s first officer may be too worried about his family to focus on his job. But there is much worse to worry about, for there is a saboteur aboard and Kirk must find the culprit. He may lose his life before order is restored!
THE MENAGERIE
This episode included portions of the show’s original pilot, featuring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. It was later combined with a new story surrounding Spock’s court-martial and was the only two-parter in the series. The pilot was used for flashbacks and was highly effective in showing Spock’s loyalty. In review, Pike ends up being trapped on a planet where beings with massive heads communicate telepathically. He is tortured as part of a plan by the advanced beings to determine the characteristics of humans. It’s the equivalent of how humans treat animals in a zoo.
THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT
Captain Kirk is given sealed orders which he must also hide from his own officers. Worse, it means the Enterprise must disobey interplanetary law and trespass into the Romulan Zone. The Romulans capture Kirk and decide he acted on his own. But it’s Spock who most interests them as they try to get him to turn traitor. The Vulcans and Romulans shared a common ancestor, but the Vulcans chose peace and logic while the Romulans chose violence and gain. This episode serves to show the Federation as the United States, the Klingons as the USSR, and the Romulans as China.
A PIECE OF THE ACTION
One hundred years before the Enterprise began its journey, another ship, the Horizon, connected with a faraway planet. But the Horizon was lost after contact was made and Kirk and crew must determine what is happening with the current denizens of the planet. It seems the inhabitants are very curious and very imitative, to the point that they have used historical records from the Horizon to learn about the Roaring 1920s in Chicago. It’s Al Capone and gang warfare which the Enterprise officers must curtail to be successful in their mission.
It was interesting reading these as I had forgotten some of these episodes, but the short stories made them alive again. I always feel sorry for the Red Shirts.
Book Season = Year Round (phasers on stun)
April 28, 2015
The episodes novelized in within include All Our Yesterdays, The Devil in the Dark, Journey To Babel, The Menagerie, The Enterprise Incident, and A Piece of the Action.
I’m pretty sure that All Our Yesterdays is the first Trek episode Blish has novelized where he keeps the multiple storylines from the episode. Within we follow both Kirk in ye olden not!London and Spock & McCoy in the Ice Age. It breezes through the story while being a solid retelling of the episode.
The Devil in the Dark actually manages to maintain some of the mystery of the episode it’s based on while still condensing where it can.
Journey to Babel is is the 2x speed version of the story.
The Menagerie is actually just The Cage as the author’s forward to the story makes clear that the wraparound would have just been lost pages. I’d tend to agree with him as the novelization of the story manages to retain everything except the crew trying to blast their way into the Talosian base. I applaud Blish for managing to fit a rather dense episode into an extremely limited page count.
The Enterprise Incident is shortened by mostly following Spock’s role in the story, a fair decision on the author’s part.
A Piece of the Action is one of my favorite episodes and I’m glad to say the author does a pretty good job of adapting it to the short story format.
Overall I’d say that this is a marked improvement over the previous three books and at three of five stars is something I’d recommend picking up if you stumble across it in a used book store somewhere.
I’m pretty sure that All Our Yesterdays is the first Trek episode Blish has novelized where he keeps the multiple storylines from the episode. Within we follow both Kirk in ye olden not!London and Spock & McCoy in the Ice Age. It breezes through the story while being a solid retelling of the episode.
The Devil in the Dark actually manages to maintain some of the mystery of the episode it’s based on while still condensing where it can.
Journey to Babel is is the 2x speed version of the story.
The Menagerie is actually just The Cage as the author’s forward to the story makes clear that the wraparound would have just been lost pages. I’d tend to agree with him as the novelization of the story manages to retain everything except the crew trying to blast their way into the Talosian base. I applaud Blish for managing to fit a rather dense episode into an extremely limited page count.
The Enterprise Incident is shortened by mostly following Spock’s role in the story, a fair decision on the author’s part.
A Piece of the Action is one of my favorite episodes and I’m glad to say the author does a pretty good job of adapting it to the short story format.
Overall I’d say that this is a marked improvement over the previous three books and at three of five stars is something I’d recommend picking up if you stumble across it in a used book store somewhere.
August 19, 2019
This is the same as the previous volumes...in both good and bad ways.
(Some of these episodes I haven't seen, but, one chapter claims to have a never-before-seen ending. At least there's some new material here.)
(Some of these episodes I haven't seen, but, one chapter claims to have a never-before-seen ending. At least there's some new material here.)
December 3, 2023
This is the book I had as a child. It’s a really good collection and has the original pilot “The Menagerie” in it.
These books might be my favorite way to consume TOS. The plots are boiled down to essentials and they concentrate on Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
These books might be my favorite way to consume TOS. The plots are boiled down to essentials and they concentrate on Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
December 6, 2024
This is - rather obviously - a continuation of Blish's early efforts to get Star Trek into print, and as with the rest of this series this short work contains several novelizations of Original Series episodes (6 in this case). As with the others, while I find them mildly entertaining and find Blish's writing to be well-suited to this task, they are still just novelizations of episodes, and with only around 20 pages available for each there isn't a whole lot of introspection or depth of detail. That simply wasn't the purpose, after all! So, while these are fun so far as getting a written look at TOS adventures, it doesn't rise above the category of "good."
The most memorable episode written up in this set was The Menagerie, which fans will remember as the only two part episode of the Original Series run. More interesting, the story told in that episode took place both in the "present" of the Enterprise, with Kirk in command, and also in the past during a previous mission of the Enterprise when it was under the command of Captain Christopher Pike - now more well known to more casual fans due to the Strange New Worlds series. The footage used in the Menagarie was actually reused from the original unaired pilot for Star Trek, called "The Cage."
This structure left Blish with a difficult task - how, in 20 pages, do you effectively tell a story within a story and give it the nuance it deserves? The answer was to effectively ignore the story actually told in the episode The Menagerie and to basically just novelize "The Cage." I think that was the right choice - it would have gotten convoluted awfully quickly to try to tell both stories. He could have tried to interweave the stories as the episode did, but that would have likely resulted in a lack of flow and severely disjointed storytelling. Alternatively he could have provided a leader and a bumper with the "present time" story introducing and trailing the "past" story, but those snippets in the present would have had to be quite short and likely wouldn't have made a lot of sense. He would have had to severely truncate the story of Captain Pike in the present era, and that would have been a shame. I think he made the right decision.
In any case, unless you're a significant fan of either James Blish or of the Original Series, I would probably leave this entire series be. There's nothing wrong with these books at all, but there are more compelling places to spend your reading time.
The most memorable episode written up in this set was The Menagerie, which fans will remember as the only two part episode of the Original Series run. More interesting, the story told in that episode took place both in the "present" of the Enterprise, with Kirk in command, and also in the past during a previous mission of the Enterprise when it was under the command of Captain Christopher Pike - now more well known to more casual fans due to the Strange New Worlds series. The footage used in the Menagarie was actually reused from the original unaired pilot for Star Trek, called "The Cage."
This structure left Blish with a difficult task - how, in 20 pages, do you effectively tell a story within a story and give it the nuance it deserves? The answer was to effectively ignore the story actually told in the episode The Menagerie and to basically just novelize "The Cage." I think that was the right choice - it would have gotten convoluted awfully quickly to try to tell both stories. He could have tried to interweave the stories as the episode did, but that would have likely resulted in a lack of flow and severely disjointed storytelling. Alternatively he could have provided a leader and a bumper with the "present time" story introducing and trailing the "past" story, but those snippets in the present would have had to be quite short and likely wouldn't have made a lot of sense. He would have had to severely truncate the story of Captain Pike in the present era, and that would have been a shame. I think he made the right decision.
In any case, unless you're a significant fan of either James Blish or of the Original Series, I would probably leave this entire series be. There's nothing wrong with these books at all, but there are more compelling places to spend your reading time.
July 19, 2024
I devoured these books as a kid in the 70's. At that time the only other Star Trek around was the animated series and a couple of books and we were at the mercy of the 3 channel universe still!
Basically all twelve books follow the t.v. episodes pretty closely, just with literary filler to make it flow better. Nowadays we would just read a Wiki entry and ignore the books.
The biggest difference is that in some of the earlier books, up to around Star Trek 5 or 6, James Blish would change a few things for narrative flow, and in particular remove the unnecessary death of a the occasional Red Shirt. (Awwwwww!) But by the end of the run he was just basically going through the motions and just writing the script as it was, dead Red Shirts and all (Yeah!).
My one complaint though is that JB would write Scotty's speaking parts in a Scottish Brogue and more often than not I couldn't make head or tales of it.
Still, would have not missed reading them for anything. I was an avid Trekkie after all. And for JB it was a nice gig for an over the hill sci-fi writer.
Best part of all was that in grade 9 and 10 high school our English class had a 6 or 12 (I forget which) book reading requirement. And it being a Technical Vocation high school, that requirement caused a furor with so many students who had never read a book in their life. Thank you James Blish and Star Trek. Within a month I already had my 12 book requirement covered. LOL
I decided to up my rating from 3 to 4 stars when I remembered just how much enjoyment these books gave me.
Live Long And Prosper.
Basically all twelve books follow the t.v. episodes pretty closely, just with literary filler to make it flow better. Nowadays we would just read a Wiki entry and ignore the books.
The biggest difference is that in some of the earlier books, up to around Star Trek 5 or 6, James Blish would change a few things for narrative flow, and in particular remove the unnecessary death of a the occasional Red Shirt. (Awwwwww!) But by the end of the run he was just basically going through the motions and just writing the script as it was, dead Red Shirts and all (Yeah!).
My one complaint though is that JB would write Scotty's speaking parts in a Scottish Brogue and more often than not I couldn't make head or tales of it.
Still, would have not missed reading them for anything. I was an avid Trekkie after all. And for JB it was a nice gig for an over the hill sci-fi writer.
Best part of all was that in grade 9 and 10 high school our English class had a 6 or 12 (I forget which) book reading requirement. And it being a Technical Vocation high school, that requirement caused a furor with so many students who had never read a book in their life. Thank you James Blish and Star Trek. Within a month I already had my 12 book requirement covered. LOL
I decided to up my rating from 3 to 4 stars when I remembered just how much enjoyment these books gave me.
Live Long And Prosper.
February 3, 2025
James Blish's 1971 Star Trek 4 contains 6 stories adapted by Blish from the screenplays of the 1960s television series.
Credits for the original screenplays are as follows:
"All Our Yesterdays" by Jean Lisette Aroeste,
"The Devil in the Dark" by Gene L. Coon,
"Journey to Babel" by D.C. Fontana,
"The Menagerie" by Gene Roddenberry,
"The Enterprise Incident" by D.C. Fontana, and
"A Piece of the Action" by David P. Harmon and Gene l. Coon.
As with my reviews of the previous books in the series, about these stories themselves I feel I need say nothing beyond the briefest nod to each: Kirk and Spock and McCoy get stuck in the past timelines of a planet whose star is about to go nova, a big acid-drizzling monster has started killing miners in the deep corridors of a lonely colony, quarrelsome ambassadors--including Spock's parents--must be ferried to a crucial interstellar conference, the original pilot episode has Captain Pike caught in a sinister world of illusions, Kirk appears to have gone insane as he purposefully violates the Romulan Neutral Zone and finds the Enterprise surrounded without escape, and Kirk and Spock end up in the shenanigans of an alien world living like the gangster era of 1920s Chicago. After all, anyone choosing the book is already familiar with the episodes of the TV show, right?
As usual, differences pop up here and there between what we are familiar with and the adaptations Blish gives us. Some arise from the various artistic choices needed in adaptation, others from the fact that the scripts given to Blish were not always the most finalized versions. The more familiar the individual reader is with a particular broadcast episode, the more noticeable and potentially interesting such divergences will be.
In "The Menagerie," for example, as Blish works from that original story rather than the more-familiar two-episode story that uses the narrative frame of Spock's current court martial to show the past, he "adapts only the main story, incidentally restoring it to the ending it had--never shown on television" (1974 Bantam paperback, page 69). And speaking of endings, the cheesy yet somewhat irresistible "A Piece of the Action" happens to lack the final twist of McCoy losing his communicator and thus leading the imitative Iotians onto a very different track. Surely there are others I didn't happen to have noticed.
In any event, James Blish's Star Trek 4 is not deeply probing or given to evocative or artistic turns of phrase, nor probably is it intended for an audience that has never heard of the starship Enterprise and its historic 5-year mission, but its adventures are swiftly moving and entertaining, and founded upon courage and friendship and the dignity of the individual, and for fans of the television series will be a pleasantly familiar 5-star read.
Credits for the original screenplays are as follows:
"All Our Yesterdays" by Jean Lisette Aroeste,
"The Devil in the Dark" by Gene L. Coon,
"Journey to Babel" by D.C. Fontana,
"The Menagerie" by Gene Roddenberry,
"The Enterprise Incident" by D.C. Fontana, and
"A Piece of the Action" by David P. Harmon and Gene l. Coon.
As with my reviews of the previous books in the series, about these stories themselves I feel I need say nothing beyond the briefest nod to each: Kirk and Spock and McCoy get stuck in the past timelines of a planet whose star is about to go nova, a big acid-drizzling monster has started killing miners in the deep corridors of a lonely colony, quarrelsome ambassadors--including Spock's parents--must be ferried to a crucial interstellar conference, the original pilot episode has Captain Pike caught in a sinister world of illusions, Kirk appears to have gone insane as he purposefully violates the Romulan Neutral Zone and finds the Enterprise surrounded without escape, and Kirk and Spock end up in the shenanigans of an alien world living like the gangster era of 1920s Chicago. After all, anyone choosing the book is already familiar with the episodes of the TV show, right?
As usual, differences pop up here and there between what we are familiar with and the adaptations Blish gives us. Some arise from the various artistic choices needed in adaptation, others from the fact that the scripts given to Blish were not always the most finalized versions. The more familiar the individual reader is with a particular broadcast episode, the more noticeable and potentially interesting such divergences will be.
In "The Menagerie," for example, as Blish works from that original story rather than the more-familiar two-episode story that uses the narrative frame of Spock's current court martial to show the past, he "adapts only the main story, incidentally restoring it to the ending it had--never shown on television" (1974 Bantam paperback, page 69). And speaking of endings, the cheesy yet somewhat irresistible "A Piece of the Action" happens to lack the final twist of McCoy losing his communicator and thus leading the imitative Iotians onto a very different track. Surely there are others I didn't happen to have noticed.
In any event, James Blish's Star Trek 4 is not deeply probing or given to evocative or artistic turns of phrase, nor probably is it intended for an audience that has never heard of the starship Enterprise and its historic 5-year mission, but its adventures are swiftly moving and entertaining, and founded upon courage and friendship and the dignity of the individual, and for fans of the television series will be a pleasantly familiar 5-star read.
September 6, 2022
I zipped through this little book in about an hour and a half. It's very nicely paced, so that helped, containing as it does the novelisations-in-short-story-form of six episodes from the original series of Star Trek. The best of them was, I think, "The Menagerie," the initial pilot episode that was so thoroughly reworked for the show proper. I've seen it several times, so no surprises there, but what was most interesting was how Blish altered the episode slightly, getting rid of the framing device. Most of the episodes in this series are straight retellings with little authorial editing or explanation, but Blish had apparently tried and failed to produce such a retelling, and felt exercised enough by the final product that he left a rather lengthy note explaining what he'd done. I always enjoy reading that sort of thing - being a writer myself I feel a sympathy! - and it's good to see how other writers deal with problems like this when things don't turn out as expected.
December 27, 2024
James Blish (RIP) is a master of novelizing the episode draft scripts. NOTE: These episode novelizations are based on the draft scripts in most cases and have significant plot or dialogue differences from the finished episodes.
As an old trekker returning to the books after about 30 years of occasional binge-watches of TOS on VHS or DVD (yes, I’m THAT old), I finally got around to reading these episode novelizations by James Blish (with a few written or completed by his wife, J.A. Lawrence, after Mr. Blish passed away in the late 1970s; similar to what Christopher Tolkien did for his father’s incomplete works). The differences were much appreciated as they breathed new life and different perspectives into the TOS episodes that I have nearly memorized by watching all three seasons time and again since childhood.
If you’re interested in Star Trek, you’ll find something interesting in these novelizations. If you an old, die hard Trekker (some say Trekkie) like me, you’ll LOVE these old novelizations, especially in the fresh ways they vary from the final aired episodes.
Favorites in this book are the last two: The Enterprise Incident and A Piece of the Action. But The Devil in the Dark (one of my favorite episodes, “I’m a doctor not a bricklayer!”) and The Menagerie were also brilliant. I love all the episode novelizations, but those stood out to me - just my subjective opinion for myself.
As an old trekker returning to the books after about 30 years of occasional binge-watches of TOS on VHS or DVD (yes, I’m THAT old), I finally got around to reading these episode novelizations by James Blish (with a few written or completed by his wife, J.A. Lawrence, after Mr. Blish passed away in the late 1970s; similar to what Christopher Tolkien did for his father’s incomplete works). The differences were much appreciated as they breathed new life and different perspectives into the TOS episodes that I have nearly memorized by watching all three seasons time and again since childhood.
If you’re interested in Star Trek, you’ll find something interesting in these novelizations. If you an old, die hard Trekker (some say Trekkie) like me, you’ll LOVE these old novelizations, especially in the fresh ways they vary from the final aired episodes.
Favorites in this book are the last two: The Enterprise Incident and A Piece of the Action. But The Devil in the Dark (one of my favorite episodes, “I’m a doctor not a bricklayer!”) and The Menagerie were also brilliant. I love all the episode novelizations, but those stood out to me - just my subjective opinion for myself.
December 8, 2024
Over all I think this collection of novelizations is a little better then the previous volume. This one contained some stories I had never seen before, such as All Our Yesterdays and The Enterprise Incident, and I used this as an opportunity to watch these episodes and then read the adaption. I am pretty sure most of these stick much closer to the episode then some of the earlier volumes. The major exception to this is The Menagerie, which is really an adaption of The Cage, leaving out the added material for the original airing of The Menagerie.
This was fun, I especially enjoyed A Piece of the Action and The Devil in the Dark and The Enterprise Incident.
This was fun, I especially enjoyed A Piece of the Action and The Devil in the Dark and The Enterprise Incident.
April 6, 2019
These books are adapted from the TV series, and are short reads. They are around 130 pages, with eight stories (usually), with each tale about 20 pages long.
"A Piece of the Action" is my favorite from this collection, where Captain Kirk, Spock, and McCoy end up on a planet that is similar to the 1920s gangster era, and Kirk gets in the middle of rival gang war.
Even if you are not well verse on the Star Trek characters, you can enjoy these short reads.
For an in depth review, go to: https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/201...
"A Piece of the Action" is my favorite from this collection, where Captain Kirk, Spock, and McCoy end up on a planet that is similar to the 1920s gangster era, and Kirk gets in the middle of rival gang war.
Even if you are not well verse on the Star Trek characters, you can enjoy these short reads.
For an in depth review, go to: https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/201...
September 22, 2021
Nicht nur, dass Blish, wie auch bei den anderen Bänden der Reihe, die besten Szenen, jeglichen Humor und alles außer der reinen Action weglässt, hier ist auch noch die Übersetzung schauderhaft. Zur Verteidigung des Übersetzers kann man natürlich anmerken, dass das Buch zu einer Zeit erschien, als Star Trek in Deutschland noch nicht oder gerade erst angelaufen war, er sich also noch nicht auf die später kanonischen Übersetzungen stützen konnte. Das macht es beim Lesen nur leider nicht erträglicher.
December 29, 2021
This volume includes "The Cage" (the first pilot, featuring Captain Christopher Pike), "Journey to Babel" (introducing Spock's parents) and "A Piece of the Action" (Chicago style gangsters and the game of games, fizzbin).
April 15, 2022
Being a massive Star Trek fan, I really enjoyed this book. There are a few extremely sexist descriptions, but, like Uhura's uniform, they were so ridiculous in their overt sexualisation as to be funny, so I was able to overlook them. Reading this book felt like watching an episode!
June 6, 2024
Of the six episode novelizations the best ones are "All Our Yesterdays" for the humanization of Spock and "A Piece Of The Action" just because it made me smile!
Next Hardcover: "Star Trek 5" by James Blish (1972)
Next Hardcover: "Star Trek 5" by James Blish (1972)
August 5, 2025
This book had a duplicate (which maybe had an improved story line; spoke explains need for lying) but aside from this all were enjoyable episodes of ST:OS. At some point I'll have to go back and itemize which episodes are in which books... But I assume that's already on the Internet somewhere.
November 24, 2017
The adventure continues...old school Treking
May 26, 2018
TOS episodes. Done well.
September 9, 2022
Once again, I spent #StarTrekDay finishing another Star Trek collection of novelizations of various episodes
March 25, 2023
Reading each book of the series right now, stories in no particular order. They're treats for me each day. Funny how I can hear them as I read, too.
July 28, 2025
Malinconico. Stratificato. Riflessivo.
August 27, 2017
4th TOS Anthology by James Blish collecting together 6 episodes in short story form based on the shooting script. The biggie here is The Menagerie in which Captain Pike is kidnapped and placed in an alien zoo - obviously this has been streamlined into a linear story and it's nice to see the differences to how the episode with a completely missing frame work turned out.
The highlight for me was Journey to Babel in which Spock is reunited with his estranged parents Sarak and Amanda.... Love this story!
This one also covers the nice time travel 'All Our Yesterdays' which went on to spawn the two novels Time for Yesterday/Yesterday's son both of which are well worth checking out.
A piece of the action is also worth checking out - in which an alien culture has adopted the mafia/ gangster ideology for the basis of their society after a previous Federation encounter - Kirk and crew have to rectify the mistake.
Another solid and hugely enjoyable Trek novelisation - just featuring less of my favourite episodes than volume 3.
The highlight for me was Journey to Babel in which Spock is reunited with his estranged parents Sarak and Amanda.... Love this story!
This one also covers the nice time travel 'All Our Yesterdays' which went on to spawn the two novels Time for Yesterday/Yesterday's son both of which are well worth checking out.
A piece of the action is also worth checking out - in which an alien culture has adopted the mafia/ gangster ideology for the basis of their society after a previous Federation encounter - Kirk and crew have to rectify the mistake.
Another solid and hugely enjoyable Trek novelisation - just featuring less of my favourite episodes than volume 3.
October 13, 2016
Another collection of stories adapted by James Blish from the original scripts. This one contains a horta, the first appearance of Spock's parents, Kirk with Vulcan ears, Chicago gangsters, and Captain Pike. Good stuff.
December 14, 2015
“Star Trek 4” by James Blish is his fourth collection of Star Trek Original Series scripts adaptations. There are six adaptations included in this collection with two taken from each of Star Trek’s three seasons as follows:
All Our Yesterdays (Season 3)
The Devil in the Dark (Season 1)
Journey to Babel (Season 2)
The Menagerie (Season 1)
The Enterprise Incident (Season 3)
A Piece of the Action (Season 2)
The episodes in this collection are all rather enjoyable and fun, including the two stories taken from season 3 which were probably the best ones available from that season. It probably isn’t as enjoyable as “Star Trek 3” was but considering that book contained four episodes that were nominated for Hugo awards and this one only contained one it shouldn’t be that surprising.
In regards to the writing itself, Blish continues to do a competent job at converting the episodes into short story form although as always there is very little elaboration over what has been shown on TV. In fact, in regards to “The Megangerie”, Blish just removes the entire framing story and sticks with what is basically “The Cage”. He does at least explain why he does it, although as a modern reader used to reading many stories that include multiple viewpoints, different time periods and framing stories I can’t say I agree with his reasoning. Then again, as this was a short story, perhaps it was the right thing to have done.
Overall, this is another competent and enjoyable collection of Star Trek episode adaptations. It is probably only something a Trek fan would enjoy but I do like having the ability just to quickly delve into the stories of The Original Series without having to sit down and watch a full 40 minute episode.
All Our Yesterdays (Season 3)
The Devil in the Dark (Season 1)
Journey to Babel (Season 2)
The Menagerie (Season 1)
The Enterprise Incident (Season 3)
A Piece of the Action (Season 2)
The episodes in this collection are all rather enjoyable and fun, including the two stories taken from season 3 which were probably the best ones available from that season. It probably isn’t as enjoyable as “Star Trek 3” was but considering that book contained four episodes that were nominated for Hugo awards and this one only contained one it shouldn’t be that surprising.
In regards to the writing itself, Blish continues to do a competent job at converting the episodes into short story form although as always there is very little elaboration over what has been shown on TV. In fact, in regards to “The Megangerie”, Blish just removes the entire framing story and sticks with what is basically “The Cage”. He does at least explain why he does it, although as a modern reader used to reading many stories that include multiple viewpoints, different time periods and framing stories I can’t say I agree with his reasoning. Then again, as this was a short story, perhaps it was the right thing to have done.
Overall, this is another competent and enjoyable collection of Star Trek episode adaptations. It is probably only something a Trek fan would enjoy but I do like having the ability just to quickly delve into the stories of The Original Series without having to sit down and watch a full 40 minute episode.
August 4, 2014
The James Blish "Star Trek" series is a twelve book series of adaptations of the stories from the original "Star Trek" television series. Frankly, Blish didn't do a very good job of it, and most of the series is pretty weak, even for a longtime fan of the series. As far as the writing itself is concerned, this book is better than most of the series; Blish embellishes very little on the basic plots he was given, which to an extent is a good thing; the stories are all pretty well what we saw onscreen. But he takes it to an extreme; there is little description beyond what is absolutely necessary, and little insight into character beyond what is demonstrated by action and dialogue. You know there isn't much meat added to the bare bones of the story when you can read the text version in less time than it takes to watch the episode on tape.The stories in this book are "All Our Yesterdays", "The Devil In The Dark", "Journey to Babel", "The Cage" (although here it's called "The Menagerie"), "The Enterprise Incident", and "A Piece of the Action". 134 pages for 6 stories leaves about 20 pages per story, so yes, there isn't much elaboration to be found in any of them. What there is isn't bad, but there isn't much there. But if you want to read a text version of any of these stories, this is your best option.
April 18, 2016
Here we have another one of the 12 volumes adapting the TOS episodes into short-stories. This time we have adaptations of "All Our Yesterdays", "The Devil in the Dark", "Journey to Babel", "The Menagerie", "The Enterprise Incident" and "A Piece of the Action".
As per usual, the adaptations are competent and only as good as the episodes they are adapting, the highlights here are "Journey to Babel" where Spock's relationship with his parents is greatly developed, "The Enterprise Incident" which has great insights into the relationship between Romulans and Vulcans and "The Menagerie". This last one deserves special mention because it isn't an adaptation of "The Menagerie" at all but of the unaired pilot "The Cage" which was later turned into a two-parter with a framing story as "The Menagerie". Blish wisely thought that including the framing story would make the piece too confusing and therefore adapted the screenplay of "The Cage", which at the time of this publishing had never been seen by the wide public being an unaired pilot. This is the type of nugget that makes these adaptations well worth a read, particularly in 1971. Now you can find "The Cage" in all DVD and Blu-Ray box-sets, but at the time reading Blish's adaptation of the original was really the best you could do.
More Reviews at: trekwarsproject.blogspot.com
As per usual, the adaptations are competent and only as good as the episodes they are adapting, the highlights here are "Journey to Babel" where Spock's relationship with his parents is greatly developed, "The Enterprise Incident" which has great insights into the relationship between Romulans and Vulcans and "The Menagerie". This last one deserves special mention because it isn't an adaptation of "The Menagerie" at all but of the unaired pilot "The Cage" which was later turned into a two-parter with a framing story as "The Menagerie". Blish wisely thought that including the framing story would make the piece too confusing and therefore adapted the screenplay of "The Cage", which at the time of this publishing had never been seen by the wide public being an unaired pilot. This is the type of nugget that makes these adaptations well worth a read, particularly in 1971. Now you can find "The Cage" in all DVD and Blu-Ray box-sets, but at the time reading Blish's adaptation of the original was really the best you could do.
More Reviews at: trekwarsproject.blogspot.com
April 28, 2014
A collection of mini-stories adapted from TOS episodes. They are pretty straight-forward, as apparently the author was trying to stay as true to the episodes as possible to avoid offending rabid fans. Personally, I wouldn't have minded a bit more extrapolation and 'depth' to the stories. Of course, I have a vastly different perspective than the original 1970's audience... Also, I wonder why the stories are out of order. 'All Our Yesterdays', which aired near the end of season 3, is the first story presented, then 'Devil in the Dark' (1x25), 'Journey to Babel' (2x10), and 'The Menagerie' (1x12-13, but technically 0x1, since it is really the unaired 'The Cage' episode, not 'The Menagerie')... the author says this is because he found trying to write 'The Menagerie' with its storyline jumps "impossibly confusing". I've read plenty of stories that follow a similar pattern, but I guess if you're trying to fit it into a 20 page short story, it might be more daunting. Anyway, after 'The Menagerie' is 'The Enterprise Incident' (3x2) and 'A Piece of the Action' (2x17). I have NO idea why they are in this order and not the order in which they aired.
December 18, 2016
This collection of six story adaptations of episodes gave me pleasure out of proportion to the small size of the book. Six stories, one of which "The Menagerie" differs quite a bit from the broadcast episode (but probably rings true to the original pilot episode released many years later). Blish explains why he chose to edit out the wraparound story and include the original ending. I've watched a dozen or more of the original episodes on TV the last couple months (kudos to BBC America for really high quality presentations). Many of the episodes reveal the weaknesses of the show - however the story adaptations manage to ring very true and are an honorable testament to the original series. I was glad to have read these and will read more.
included was:
ix • Preface
1 • All Our Yesterdays
23 • The Devil in the Dark
45 • Journey to Babel
69 • The Menagerie
95 • The Enterprise Incident
117 • A Piece of the Action
included was:
ix • Preface
1 • All Our Yesterdays
23 • The Devil in the Dark
45 • Journey to Babel
69 • The Menagerie
95 • The Enterprise Incident
117 • A Piece of the Action
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