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When a massive energy surge hurtles Captain Kirk one hundred years into the future, he is amazed to find a peaceful Klingon world and is revered as an intergalactic peacemaker, but he must find a way to return home and bring the Great Peace of the future with him
221 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 22, 2025
What we have here is a pretty complicated plot about Klingons and the federation. At first, the story seems like it's trying to connect to TNG, but later, it takes a twist and goes in a completely different direction. That twist ends up not being overly surprising because you see it coming. I won't spoil it, but the entire process is still fairly entertaining despite being predictable.
The story takes place after The Motion Picture and before The Wrath of Khan, but doesn't do much to put itself into that period. There are several mentions of Kirk's time behind a desk, and at one point, Spock calls him admiral. But for the most part, it feels like the TV show. Even the description of the ship left me picturing the one from the TV show. For instance, the description of the buttons on the captain's chair.
The authors representation of the characters is perfect. Especially Spock, who was absolutely spot on. Kirk and Bones were right up there, too. As I read their dialogue, I heard the actor's voices in my head. You can't ask for anything better from a Star Trek novel in this respect.
You might want to rewatch The Tholian Web and City on the Edge of Forever prior to reading.
The story takes place after The Motion Picture and before The Wrath of Khan, but doesn't do much to put itself into that period. There are several mentions of Kirk's time behind a desk, and at one point, Spock calls him admiral. But for the most part, it feels like the TV show. Even the description of the ship left me picturing the one from the TV show. For instance, the description of the buttons on the captain's chair.
The authors representation of the characters is perfect. Especially Spock, who was absolutely spot on. Kirk and Bones were right up there, too. As I read their dialogue, I heard the actor's voices in my head. You can't ask for anything better from a Star Trek novel in this respect.
You might want to rewatch The Tholian Web and City on the Edge of Forever prior to reading.
July 21, 2024
Das Buch hat schon damit begonnen, dass der Autor Trek Geschichte so verbogen hat, dass sie mehr schlecht auf seine Geschichte passt - aber halt nicht mehr zum Kanon.
Und dann wurden die Seiten vor allem mit Hin und Her gefüllt. Kirk geht zu Person A für Information X, fragt da nach Information Y, wird dafür zu Person B geschickt, die ihn dann für Info Z wieder zu Person A schickt... Und das Spielchen wiederholt sich später noch mal. Mir ist klar, dass das reingebracht wurde, damit Kirk nicht nur zwei lange Infodumps kriegt. (Den dritten kriegt er dann am Stück.) Aber das täuscht halt nicht darüber hinweg, dass im Buch eigentlich nicht wirklich was passiert. Und das könnte auch funktionieren. Aber wenn man cozy mit wenig Handlung will, dann muss man dafür die Charaktere besser ausbauen und es darf nicht gleich um sowas Hohes wie galaktischen Frieden gehen.
(Und irgendwie riecht die Geschichte ein bisschen nach genretypischem Rassismus gegen eine Alienspezies.)
Und dann wurden die Seiten vor allem mit Hin und Her gefüllt. Kirk geht zu Person A für Information X, fragt da nach Information Y, wird dafür zu Person B geschickt, die ihn dann für Info Z wieder zu Person A schickt... Und das Spielchen wiederholt sich später noch mal. Mir ist klar, dass das reingebracht wurde, damit Kirk nicht nur zwei lange Infodumps kriegt. (Den dritten kriegt er dann am Stück.) Aber das täuscht halt nicht darüber hinweg, dass im Buch eigentlich nicht wirklich was passiert. Und das könnte auch funktionieren. Aber wenn man cozy mit wenig Handlung will, dann muss man dafür die Charaktere besser ausbauen und es darf nicht gleich um sowas Hohes wie galaktischen Frieden gehen.
(Und irgendwie riecht die Geschichte ein bisschen nach genretypischem Rassismus gegen eine Alienspezies.)
December 30, 2014
Just no! I know it's drugs, I know Kirk is hurt and all, BUT him being "oh, I won't see Spock and McCoy and Enterprise anymore, but that's ok I have a new life now with a KLINGONS" is just sickly WRONG. He is not this stupid... better skip this one.
October 18, 2025
Published in 1988 by Pocket Books
I used to be a gigantic reader of Star Trek books. In the mid-80's I had a rather large collection. In fact, my cousin and I had a complete collection if we put ours together (we would share back and forth so we wouldn't miss any book). I was quite the fan. I ran across this book when I was picking through the stacks of a used book store that had lost its lease and picked it up for old times sake.
I don't remember the plot of Timetrap at all so this must have been published after I had stopped making sure I had EVERY Star Trek that was printed.
Synopsis:
The story occurs in the same region of space as The Original Series episode "The Tholian Web." The Tholians had the ability to make an area of space phase in and out of alternate universes. Or, maybe it was natural - who knows? After all, the Tholians are a mysterious species and no one knows much about them.
In that show, a federation ship was trapped and phasing back and forth between universes. No one knew that this was the case and Captain Kirk ends up trapped on that ship and comes within seconds of death because he personally led an away team to an unclear and dangerous location. What can you do? He's the captain, he can pick the away teams and if he wants to risk his life it is his prerogative.
In the book, it is some time later and Kirk finds a Klingon ship in a similar situation as the Federation ship was in "The Tholian Web". The Klingon ship is literally being torn to pieces by the stresses. Again, he personally leads an away team, The goal to kidnap/rescue members of the crew so they can be questioned as to why this Klingon warship was so far away from the Klingon Empire.
But, something unexpected happens. The ship blips out of existence and Kirk wakes up 100 years in the future - in a time when the Klingons and the Federation have combined. The Federation won the continual Klingon/Federation Cold War and the Klingons are happy about and everyone is looking forward to the day when the Romulans will join as well.
Meanwhile, the crew of the Enterprise is pulling in every favor to keep investigating the disappearance of Captain Kirk in hopes of rescuing him...
My Review:
Even with a book that is 37 year olds that has its own Wikipedia page, I am not going to talk a lot about the plot and any issues that I had with it because it would be nothing but a series of spoilers.
It isn't a bad story, but not a great one. I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
Originally posted here: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2025...
I used to be a gigantic reader of Star Trek books. In the mid-80's I had a rather large collection. In fact, my cousin and I had a complete collection if we put ours together (we would share back and forth so we wouldn't miss any book). I was quite the fan. I ran across this book when I was picking through the stacks of a used book store that had lost its lease and picked it up for old times sake.
I don't remember the plot of Timetrap at all so this must have been published after I had stopped making sure I had EVERY Star Trek that was printed.
Synopsis:
The story occurs in the same region of space as The Original Series episode "The Tholian Web." The Tholians had the ability to make an area of space phase in and out of alternate universes. Or, maybe it was natural - who knows? After all, the Tholians are a mysterious species and no one knows much about them.
In that show, a federation ship was trapped and phasing back and forth between universes. No one knew that this was the case and Captain Kirk ends up trapped on that ship and comes within seconds of death because he personally led an away team to an unclear and dangerous location. What can you do? He's the captain, he can pick the away teams and if he wants to risk his life it is his prerogative.
In the book, it is some time later and Kirk finds a Klingon ship in a similar situation as the Federation ship was in "The Tholian Web". The Klingon ship is literally being torn to pieces by the stresses. Again, he personally leads an away team, The goal to kidnap/rescue members of the crew so they can be questioned as to why this Klingon warship was so far away from the Klingon Empire.
But, something unexpected happens. The ship blips out of existence and Kirk wakes up 100 years in the future - in a time when the Klingons and the Federation have combined. The Federation won the continual Klingon/Federation Cold War and the Klingons are happy about and everyone is looking forward to the day when the Romulans will join as well.
Meanwhile, the crew of the Enterprise is pulling in every favor to keep investigating the disappearance of Captain Kirk in hopes of rescuing him...
My Review:
Even with a book that is 37 year olds that has its own Wikipedia page, I am not going to talk a lot about the plot and any issues that I had with it because it would be nothing but a series of spoilers.
It isn't a bad story, but not a great one. I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
Originally posted here: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2025...
October 1, 2022
Ugh. I'm not sure where to start, but I suppose "not recommended" is as good a place as any.
First, the editing is slipshod. The number of times I wanted to reach for a red pen... To be fair, I do have a first printing, so maybe a later printing or edition will have patched that all up.
The concept of the book isn't terrible, it's the clumsy implementation that kills it. What's really happening (kept from the reader) is so painfully obvious early on that by the time the Big Twist was revealed, I was exhausted from rolling my eyes through chapter after chapter of HINT HINT prose, wondering when we'd just get on with it already. (I seem to recall a previous book by this author, The Trellisane Confrontation, having the same transparency issue with its "mysterious plot".)
There is a relationship between Kirk and an original female character that just comes out of nowhere. More so even than those on the original show. It felt as though 3 chapters were missing to explain how that even came to be and why in the world we should be invested in it.
The cringiest of the cringe for me were the racist stereotypes. First we meet a "fiery Latina" stereotype (Panamanian to be precise) with no personality or purpose whatsoever except her obsessive interest in, unhealthy preoccupation with, medical manipulation of, and long-suffering mothering of her antagonistic yet genius husband - who, incidentally, is casually racist toward her in the guise of joking.
Just when my shoulders finally came down from around my ears from that mess, we meet a man with a Spanish name (though actually a faux-Spanish name based on a misunderstood Americanized word that isn't even really Spanish, which shows how much research was put into this) who is - you guessed it - also "fiery". He has a complete lack of emotional control, and is a powder keg of simmering range so all-consuming that no one understands how he ever got promoted. The story tries to save it later by giving him an excuse, but the choice to present the man as Hispanic was telling.
About the time I exhaled from that, a little casual sexism was tossed in, totally unnecessarily, with no consequence to the text whatsoever, as the only female ship captain mentioned in the Federation fleet - who through another bout of shoddy editing briefly is presented as a he before being referred to as she throughout the rest of the scene - manages to not know she's supposed to keep her ship's shields up when in a tense and potentially combative stand-off. This despite every other ship around her keeping their shields up. And it being explicitly stated in a General Order as well. But, you know, women drivers!
Okay, okay. So why 2 stars and not 1? Spock. I think this author's favourite character has got to be Spock, because Spock is quite well presented. His internal struggle with the things he must do, his tendency to play things close to the chest until he's 100% certain the terrible thing he has discovered is true, his verbal sparring with McCoy, and even his internalized frustration at his inability to effectively fraternize with the crew, is all pretty spot-on. I think the author might have done better to write an in-depth novel all about Spock - without trying to give it a mysterious plot.
Altogether, I'd give it 1.75 stars.
First, the editing is slipshod. The number of times I wanted to reach for a red pen... To be fair, I do have a first printing, so maybe a later printing or edition will have patched that all up.
The concept of the book isn't terrible, it's the clumsy implementation that kills it. What's really happening (kept from the reader) is so painfully obvious early on that by the time the Big Twist was revealed, I was exhausted from rolling my eyes through chapter after chapter of HINT HINT prose, wondering when we'd just get on with it already. (I seem to recall a previous book by this author, The Trellisane Confrontation, having the same transparency issue with its "mysterious plot".)
There is a relationship between Kirk and an original female character that just comes out of nowhere. More so even than those on the original show. It felt as though 3 chapters were missing to explain how that even came to be and why in the world we should be invested in it.
The cringiest of the cringe for me were the racist stereotypes. First we meet a "fiery Latina" stereotype (Panamanian to be precise) with no personality or purpose whatsoever except her obsessive interest in, unhealthy preoccupation with, medical manipulation of, and long-suffering mothering of her antagonistic yet genius husband - who, incidentally, is casually racist toward her in the guise of joking.
Just when my shoulders finally came down from around my ears from that mess, we meet a man with a Spanish name (though actually a faux-Spanish name based on a misunderstood Americanized word that isn't even really Spanish, which shows how much research was put into this) who is - you guessed it - also "fiery". He has a complete lack of emotional control, and is a powder keg of simmering range so all-consuming that no one understands how he ever got promoted. The story tries to save it later by giving him an excuse, but the choice to present the man as Hispanic was telling.
About the time I exhaled from that, a little casual sexism was tossed in, totally unnecessarily, with no consequence to the text whatsoever, as the only female ship captain mentioned in the Federation fleet - who through another bout of shoddy editing briefly is presented as a he before being referred to as she throughout the rest of the scene - manages to not know she's supposed to keep her ship's shields up when in a tense and potentially combative stand-off. This despite every other ship around her keeping their shields up. And it being explicitly stated in a General Order as well. But, you know, women drivers!
Okay, okay. So why 2 stars and not 1? Spock. I think this author's favourite character has got to be Spock, because Spock is quite well presented. His internal struggle with the things he must do, his tendency to play things close to the chest until he's 100% certain the terrible thing he has discovered is true, his verbal sparring with McCoy, and even his internalized frustration at his inability to effectively fraternize with the crew, is all pretty spot-on. I think the author might have done better to write an in-depth novel all about Spock - without trying to give it a mysterious plot.
Altogether, I'd give it 1.75 stars.
March 16, 2017
A different sort of Star Trek novel...but a great one!
June 3, 2018
David Dvorkin's novel is one that hinges heavily on its premise of James Kirk being suddenly transported into a future in which a friendlier group of "New Klingons" have achieved the Organian-prophesied peace with the Federation. Unfortunately the story's twist is easily predictable, and too much of the plot hinges on a James Kirk who is far more credulous than one would expect his character to be in his circumstances. It's unfortunate, too, as Dvorkin's novel contains elements that, in the hands of other authors, could have resulted in two or three nifty novels for the franchise (and which prefigure episodes of both The Next Generation and Deep Space 9). In this case, however, the plotting doesn't live up to the promise of the ideas devised for it.
January 13, 2024
On board the Enterprise a freak accident has propelled Captain Kirk a hundred years into the future and on board a New Klingon ship. In this future there is peace between the Klingons and the Federation, originated by Kirk in his own time.
An entertaining re-read
An entertaining re-read
June 24, 2025
2.5 ⭐
February 20, 2015
My issue with the book is that there is no action until the last fifty pages of the book, the first half all being setup that I found rather tough to find enjoyable. The setup does serve a purpose though, it's meant to trick the reader and prepare them for the big surprise at the end.
But perhaps the biggest problem with this story is that the Kirk we're presented isn't one of action. Most of this book was a love story between him and a Klingon where they simply walk around a ship. It is only within the last twenty pages that we see him take charge of the mission.
The Klingons were portrayed in a very interesting way, that the Original Series never did. We are presented to a faction of the Klingon Empire
But by the time I reached the political thriller/classic Trek portion of the book, I just wanted it to be over. For a great ending, wallowing through the majority of the novel wasn't worth it. *Rating 2.5*
But perhaps the biggest problem with this story is that the Kirk we're presented isn't one of action. Most of this book was a love story between him and a Klingon where they simply walk around a ship. It is only within the last twenty pages that we see him take charge of the mission.
The Klingons were portrayed in a very interesting way, that the Original Series never did. We are presented to a faction of the Klingon Empire
But by the time I reached the political thriller/classic Trek portion of the book, I just wanted it to be over. For a great ending, wallowing through the majority of the novel wasn't worth it. *Rating 2.5*
May 26, 2012
I'd call this a 3.5 stars to be honest.
OK, it's a Star Trek novel. Given what we're basing this on, my expectations weren't real high. I expected campy. I expect that Kirk would fall in love (again), and I expected some science that would sound shaky at best.
And yep, I got all that.
On the other hand, I also got an entertaining read, a cross species romance that even I didn't see coming, an entire conspiracy theory (and oh, I do love a good conspiracy theory) and a deeper look into Spock's character, especially as he took command of the enterprise.
So yes, it was a good book. I'd recommend this for lovers of the original Star Trek series. It's a fun read for when you have some time to kill. And one that I honestly have to admit that I couldn't put down once I got into it.
Yep, 3.5 stars!
OK, it's a Star Trek novel. Given what we're basing this on, my expectations weren't real high. I expected campy. I expect that Kirk would fall in love (again), and I expected some science that would sound shaky at best.
And yep, I got all that.
On the other hand, I also got an entertaining read, a cross species romance that even I didn't see coming, an entire conspiracy theory (and oh, I do love a good conspiracy theory) and a deeper look into Spock's character, especially as he took command of the enterprise.
So yes, it was a good book. I'd recommend this for lovers of the original Star Trek series. It's a fun read for when you have some time to kill. And one that I honestly have to admit that I couldn't put down once I got into it.
Yep, 3.5 stars!
August 10, 2019
A reasonably enjoyable Star Trek adventure, although I never felt like it really fitted into the existing timeline that well.
Several elements of the book could have benefited from being fleshed out more rather than being rushed (Spock's visit to Earth being one) and as the book only comes in at 221 pages, it could have run for more and not been bloated.
Sadly I saw the twist at the end coming early in the story.
Being nitpicky again, the story features an older Movie-era Kirk but the cover features the younger TV-era version. Also there were a few spelling errors throughout the book.
Several elements of the book could have benefited from being fleshed out more rather than being rushed (Spock's visit to Earth being one) and as the book only comes in at 221 pages, it could have run for more and not been bloated.
Sadly I saw the twist at the end coming early in the story.
Being nitpicky again, the story features an older Movie-era Kirk but the cover features the younger TV-era version. Also there were a few spelling errors throughout the book.
February 27, 2011
Take the TNG episode "Future Imperfect"...now take it back a century in Kirk's time, but make the mystery a bit more dangerous, and the writing a bit more fun. It isn't a perfect novel...and you can see the climax coming from a mile away...but it's certainly more satisfying than "Future Imperfect".
January 16, 2026
Starts well, engaging premise and Kirk is well voiced. Where it loses points is when the twist is revealed and you realise just how convoluted the initial plan was in the first place, and it loses all believability but still an enjoyable way to revisit the original series.
August 31, 2023
Bit of a mismatched book. Kirk is mysteriously taken aboard a Klingon ship, and is presumed dead by the Enterprise. This ship tells him that he has been transported 100 years in the future, to a time of peaceful Human-Klingon relations. He meets and falls in love with a Klingon named Kalrind. Meanwhile, Spock is trying to uncover the reality behind his disappearance with the help of a scientist named Elliot, who has a secret of his own.
December 21, 2024
Well I liked this. It was a bit abrupt at times but that's expected from shorter novels and if you've watched enough Trek it's not hard to figure out what the real "trap" is right away but it's still an enjoyable read with lofty goals.
Enterprise answers a Klingon distress call when a space storm phenomenon whisks Kirk and some of the Klingons off into the future. It's a bright future for Federation-Klingon relations with cultural exchanges like those we see in TNG. However, the peace between these alpha quadrant powers hinges on Kirk's actions and now that he's be shot into the future he won't be around to facilitate the change. His new Klingon hosts develop a plan to send Kirk back to ensure the peaceful outcome is achieved.
In the meantime, Kirk - who just can't keep a lid on it - falls in love with a Klingon and though it seems unnecessary to this reader that every single story explores another relationship for our beloved Starfleet captain, I will at least say that it is handled rather well compared to other stories of the time and much better than in TOS episodes. A little more of a mature coupling maybe.
With that said there's a little bit of icky with some of the men in other relationships. One wife cherishing that she must often "mother" her husband. And a different husband imagining that he might hurt his wife if left in her presence any longer than he had been. The latter, while groß, is eventually explained and somewhat necessary to the plot.
The Tholians make an unwilling appearance as well. We don't learn very much about them but they do appear to have some hand in the events surrounding the temporal displacement caused by the storm.
Bones and Spock are in top form, but we don't really get a lot out of the rest of the Enterprise crew. Most of this story does revolve around Kirk in the future and his journey back with his Klingon hosts.
I've been wanting to read this one for ages and I was really pleased with it.
Enterprise answers a Klingon distress call when a space storm phenomenon whisks Kirk and some of the Klingons off into the future. It's a bright future for Federation-Klingon relations with cultural exchanges like those we see in TNG. However, the peace between these alpha quadrant powers hinges on Kirk's actions and now that he's be shot into the future he won't be around to facilitate the change. His new Klingon hosts develop a plan to send Kirk back to ensure the peaceful outcome is achieved.
In the meantime, Kirk - who just can't keep a lid on it - falls in love with a Klingon and though it seems unnecessary to this reader that every single story explores another relationship for our beloved Starfleet captain, I will at least say that it is handled rather well compared to other stories of the time and much better than in TOS episodes. A little more of a mature coupling maybe.
With that said there's a little bit of icky with some of the men in other relationships. One wife cherishing that she must often "mother" her husband. And a different husband imagining that he might hurt his wife if left in her presence any longer than he had been. The latter, while groß, is eventually explained and somewhat necessary to the plot.
The Tholians make an unwilling appearance as well. We don't learn very much about them but they do appear to have some hand in the events surrounding the temporal displacement caused by the storm.
Bones and Spock are in top form, but we don't really get a lot out of the rest of the Enterprise crew. Most of this story does revolve around Kirk in the future and his journey back with his Klingon hosts.
I've been wanting to read this one for ages and I was really pleased with it.
February 25, 2025
TOS #40: Time Trap by David Dvorkin
This book was fairly unremarkable and thankfully fairly short. I’ve taken a break from Star Trek books recently as I’ve felt I’ve read a lot of bad ones lately. This unfortunately continued the trend. The book had a really interesting hook with Kirk being thrown 100 years in the future (2376, as the book supposedly takes place in 2276 meaning Kirk would be there right after the end of the Dominion War, but this came in 1988). Basically, a new form of Klingons, the so called New Klingons have taken over the Klingon Empire and there’s a great peace between them and the Federation. Basically the great peace and alliance between the two entities took place as said by the Organians.
This book came in 1988 and was probably still planned and written before TNG was a thing, but there’s some echos of it in here. Also, surprisingly the Return by William Shatner with Kirk falling in love with a Klingon woman and supposedly ending up a 100 years in the future when he shouldn’t be. But this book was unfortunately predictable and I had it ruined for me by looking at some online post about it. The twist of Crandall I wasn’t expecting but I felt as if he was added to give the book 10 more pages. The idea of the New Klingons and the future they were involved in was interesting, but it wasn’t properly done and it would be fun if they were atucally real. Oh well
4/10
This book was fairly unremarkable and thankfully fairly short. I’ve taken a break from Star Trek books recently as I’ve felt I’ve read a lot of bad ones lately. This unfortunately continued the trend. The book had a really interesting hook with Kirk being thrown 100 years in the future (2376, as the book supposedly takes place in 2276 meaning Kirk would be there right after the end of the Dominion War, but this came in 1988). Basically, a new form of Klingons, the so called New Klingons have taken over the Klingon Empire and there’s a great peace between them and the Federation. Basically the great peace and alliance between the two entities took place as said by the Organians.
This book came in 1988 and was probably still planned and written before TNG was a thing, but there’s some echos of it in here. Also, surprisingly the Return by William Shatner with Kirk falling in love with a Klingon woman and supposedly ending up a 100 years in the future when he shouldn’t be. But this book was unfortunately predictable and I had it ruined for me by looking at some online post about it. The twist of Crandall I wasn’t expecting but I felt as if he was added to give the book 10 more pages. The idea of the New Klingons and the future they were involved in was interesting, but it wasn’t properly done and it would be fun if they were atucally real. Oh well
4/10
February 6, 2021
This one has a premise much like the TNG episode "Future Imperfect" -- Kirk is aboard a Klingon ship hit by a space storm and fins himself waking up in an unfamiliar Klingon ship in the future. The "New Klingons" seem overly gregarious and call him Jim... which is weird. They claim that they need to travel back in time to ensure that the crucial event leading to peace between the Klingons and Federation unfolds the way it was supposed to... and Kirk is needed to allow the Klingons entry to Federation space. Overall, I enjoyed this one... the situation was just unclear enough to confuse the reader about whether there was any truth to what the Klingons were saying or whether it was just a giant set up. Kirk gradually finds out more details, but the reality of the situation still remains obscure. Also enjoyed the tie in to surgically altered Klingon spies as seen in TOS episodes like Trouble with Tribbles.
November 26, 2022
Star Trek novels are perfect bedtime reading for me, because I don't have to concentrate too hard on who is who and what the situation is as I get sleepy. They're also a fun dose of comfort-food nostalgia. Timetrap is a solidly fun and enjoyable one. Dvorkin insists on keeping readers in the dark about a number of things for the sake of advancing the plot and increasing curiosity about what the heck is going on. Kirk seems out of character for some of the book, but there are extenuating circumstances which seem to explain that, and then later the real reasons are revealed. All in all, this novel had the tone, pace, and situations of TOS TV show, and I felt right at home. As others have noted, this book was written before the Kinglon backstory was more fully developed in TNG and Discovery, so a number of details do not jive with canon.
January 16, 2021
Definitely felt like a Star Trek episode but I could never get myself to believe what was really going on so the twist was not as surprising to me but I didn't exactly expect it to go the way it did. Kirk seemed a little too easy to dupe in this but he was in rough shape so I will let it pass. Spock and McCoy were definitely on their game and reuniting the three near the end of the book definitely breathed some life into a book I had at times struggled to enjoy. Overall I did like it but I have read better Star Trek but I have also read a lot worse.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2019
During a failed attempt to rescue Klingon officers during an ion storm, Captain Kirk is lost. He finds himself one hundred years in the future, a hero of both the Federation and their greatest allies, the Klingon Empire.
As an architect of this Great Peace, Kirk is asked to return to his own time to facilitate the Klingon mission to Earth.
Dvorkin's mystery is fairly weak, but the adventure makes up for the shortcomings and the story holds up well enough for repeated readings.
As an architect of this Great Peace, Kirk is asked to return to his own time to facilitate the Klingon mission to Earth.
Dvorkin's mystery is fairly weak, but the adventure makes up for the shortcomings and the story holds up well enough for repeated readings.
September 4, 2024
Doing my best to not mention spoilers in this review, because the juiciest part of the novel is deep within spoiler territory. McCoy gets a good amount of time in the spotlight, highlighting his character and his foil in Spock. I felt that the story wraps up nicely as well with a message of compassion. Every chapter was a pleasure to dive into, and it drives me to seek out more Star Trek novels by Dvorkin to read.
May 7, 2025
Initially I got about half way through before stopping due to what I thought was cliched writing (overly mysterious organians, another instant Kirk love interest) but wound up coming back and mostly enjoying the twist ending. However inspite of the shocking twist the reveal was stretched out over too many chapters and resolved abruptly in the final few pages. Spock's story line was also poorly paced and overly misleading.
January 7, 2024
While the “Manchurian Candidate” subplot is the most interesting part of this book, it’s intriguing watching Kirk slowly work out what has been going on behind his back. A lot of fun and a story that I could easily imagine having taken place in an episode or movie, which is my standard for enjoying these books.
December 15, 2025
I really enjoyed this story. It was "simply" written and a very easy read but the story itself was a good Star Trek story. If you're looking for a literary masterpiece this is not it. But if you just want to immerse yourself in a short novel and enjoy a story...go for it.
September 23, 2017
I think this was the first Star Trek novel I ever bought. I loved it and read it multiple times. May have to read it again and see if it holds up more than 20 years later. I suspect it will. though.
October 23, 2020
This was a fun read for me at a time where I could read Star Trek all day. Now it might take some discipline on my part - - but that isn't the fault of the book.
February 25, 2021
Liked this a lot. Very interesting and creative storyline.
September 10, 2023
I began to suspect a trick about halfway through the book. Good story of Kirk getting involved with New Klingons….the story with them dragged on a bit. A good book and short too
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