Trek to Madworld

Star Trek Adventures #9

by Stephen Goldin

Blast off with Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock as they hurtle through space with the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Plunge through an eerie pocket of spatial unreality as they risk death by radiation to save the endangered people of Epsilon Delta 4. See the marvels of Enowil, the mad gnomic master of an insane planet. Beware of treachery from the Klingons, if you would succeed in your mission.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Star Trek Original Series, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

177 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Born in Philadelphia in 1947, Stephen Goldin has lived in California since 1960. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from UCLA and worked as a civilian space scientist for the U.S. Navy for a few years after leaving college, but has made his living as a writer/editor most of his life.

His first wife was fellow author Kathleen Sky, with whom he co-wrote the first edition of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book The Business of Being a Writer . His current wife is fellow author Mary Mason. So far they have co-authored two books in the Rehumanization of Jade Darcy series.

He served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as editor of the SFWA Bulletin and as the organization’s Western Regional Director.

He has lived with cats all his adult life. Artistically, he enjoys Broadway musicals and surrealist art. Philosophically, he is an atheist.

Learn more about him at his Web site. . Many of his books can be bought through his online bookstore, Parsina Press.

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A god like being snatches the Enterprise and her crew from their reality and deposits them on a fantastical world along with a crew of Klingons and Romulans. The resulting adventure reads like a long lost episode of the original series.

[Joe Davoust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book. Very light hearted. And descriptive enough to make me think I was watching an episode of the original series instead of reading a novel.

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. It read like a lost episode (which all my favorite S.T. do). Everyone stayed within character. A solid effort. 3.5 stars.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

These early STAR TREK ADVENTURES novels are not just bad, they're generally bad in some very surprising and unique ways. I can't begin to fathom what Bantam was thinking in assembling this series, and each volume is like a punch to the stomach of the original TV show.
Although intermittently entertaining, TREK TO MADWORLD is no exception. We begin with Kirk practically throwing himself at a 20-year-old female passenger, reminiscing on his soccer prowess, and taking unnecessary navigational risks. Almost like watching Chris Pine's Kirk in action, rather than William Shatner's.
The plot could basically be summed up as "Willy Wonka gives the Enterprise crew a tour of Wonderland." Author Stephen Goldin had noticed the popularity of comedic STAR TREK episodes like THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES and SHORE LEAVE, and therefore decided to write something with a comedic bent. Unfortunately, TREK TO MADWORLD is not funny ha-ha, but just plain silly. And silly STAR TREK episodes, such as SPOCK'S BRAIN or THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR, are generally those most despised by STAR TREK fans. It certainly doesn't help that the only funny lines in the book are lifted from WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY verbatim. Honestly, that's what annoyed me most about TREK TO MADWORLD. It's one thing to base a new character on a pre-existing one, quite another to plagiarize dialog and mannerisms in such an obvious manner. Almost every other review for this book mentions the Willy Wonka connection. This is because the similarities are THAT obvious. The book does everything short of trotting out the Oompa Loompas.
Another thing these early TREK books do is waste our time on new ENTERPRISE crew members we don't care about. Remember that 20-year-old girl Kirk was hitting on? Well, would it surprise you to learn that she gets more page time than anyone else except maybe Kirk? I mean, who wants to hang out with Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc. when you can spend time with some generic Jane Doe who spends most of the book whining and causing trouble? Not only does she make the stupidest decision of any character in the history of STAR TREK, she also embarks on the franchise's most unconvincing romantic subplot. Not bad for a day's work!
At the center of TREK TO MADWORLD's plot is an interesting question: namely, what crucial element is missing from Willy Wonka's conception of paradise? I thought this might lead to some interesting philosophical discussions, but, boy, was I wrong! Ultimately, the answer is something a small child could've figured out, and it makes no sense for a being with god-like powers to have overlooked it. The fact that the answer to the novel's central question turns out to be so obvious and uninteresting makes this book even worse in retrospect. As much as I enjoy watching STAR TREK take its first baby steps into the vast world of tie-in novels, this early STAR TREK ADVENTURES series is more of a detriment to the franchise than an asset.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the earliest Star Trek (pre-1980) books written in which the characters from the TV series are recognizable in print form. (Alan Dean Foster's are the others.) The Star Trek crew are diverted from an important rescue mission by a mysterious life form with godlike powers and an agenda for the crew. Does that sound like one of about any ten or twelve of the original show plots? The book reads like it could be the thirteenth show of that nature, only with a humorous bent this time, unlike any of the original series shows with this plot device.

This story has no bells or whistles, no dialog that sparkles, no extras. It's just a fun read that stays consistent with the Star Trek universe and characterization. I think even a modern day reader can enjoy this book. I'll be choosing to read more by Goldin, based on his work here. He clearly knows how to tell a story and create interesting characters.

Edit: This book is not that memorable. I was halfway through my second read of it before I realized I'd read this before. I finished my second read because I couldn't even remember how it came out. It was still a fun read with a logical ending though.

[Mike McDevitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Mxyzptlk gives our crew a tour of Wonka's Choclate Factory, now with added sexual recreation. (Off-screen)

It's silly, it's funny, it's fun. What more can I ask? I appreciate Enowil being written as a quirky Organian rather than someone from a new race. I almost always like it when the existing toys in the sandbox are picked up and played with in a new way. (Unless, capriciously, I feel like it's a rip-off and a disservice to the original author, which I didn't here.)

Despite the oddity of the tale, everyone's in character. And a solution is found to two problems at once. A good, short read.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this likely deserves 1 star (or none), I try to reserve 1 star-reviews for dangerously bad books, offensively flawed books, and the occasional John Piper book, though, thankfully, it has been several years since I've read any of his offerings. So 2 stars, because Mr. Goldin isn't Piper or Platt, and he probably genuinely liked Star Trek, and of course one must make allowances for the '70s. That surely sounds patronizing, and I certainly don't mean it in the same way 2000s Doctor Who makers patronizingly speak of making allowances for "Classic Who." I mean it in the sense that these '70s ST authors likely genuinely enjoyed ST (not counting Joe Haldeman, of course) but hadn't seen episodes for years, who knows how infrequently reruns were shown, they had no vhs episodes to review nor DVD or Blu-Ray seasons to enjoy, so they were likely doing their best under circumstances there but for the grace of God go we today. (Head pat, head pat.)

I have been carrying these around for decades and started reading them in the 2020s; oddly fitting, as, like the years of this decade, these pre-Pocket books (an admittedly anachronistic and unfair appellation) continually vie with each other to be the worst of the series, as these years are competing with each other to be the worst of the decade if not all-time.

What makes this one so bad, you ask? Is it the trying-to-be-quaint but wholly-inexcusable-regardless-of-"the times" racism? the radical shift in tone and subject after 40-some pages? the incessant MST3K-like bad movie narration that tells and tells and tells but never shows, including the thoughts and motivations of mindless, yea, non-existent creations? the total garbage ending that has no respect for the characters, the conflict, the values of the series, or the audience? Yep. And more.

It starts off with a decent premise: a somewhat forgotten/neglected colony world that should have more respect and attention from the Federation, if for no other reason than it was founded by a hero of the early days of space exploration, gets further snubbing from the Federation until tragedy strikes and Captain Kirk's humanity awakens. This awakening occurs shortly after his libido has lead him to try to seduce the young daughter of the aforementioned hero while he is busy dying in Sickbay. Kirk's humanity helps him realize it is the Enterprise's duty to rescue the 600-some doomed colonists as soon as possible, especially since no other ship is near enough to do anything in time, as one expects. While the book proceeds to get a tad too heavy-handed with the technical aspects of how a ship designed for 430 people could cope (or not) with 600 more people, the premise sets up the audience for a fairly intriguing, different kind of story.

And then Mr. Goldin changes his mind completely and turns the book into a sub-junior-high-quality pastiche (the technical term is "pile of refuse," but I'm trying to be generous) of fantasy tropes for about one hundred pages. We get to watch our brave bridge crew watch other beings do things for over half the book. I've just made it sound much more active and interesting than it really is, sorry about that. Seriously, the characters move around in a herd like your least favorite fifth grade museum field trip for most of the book, doing nought but commenting on what they see. I think it was supposed to be fun and/or funny, but I have difficulty imagining even the poor, misguided souls of the '70s (what with their wide ties and disco ducks), desperate as they were for more Star Trek, found this story fun or funny.

Fortunately, it eventually ends, but the less said about the ending the better, as intimated above. It's not like a good resolution for the initial premise would have been difficult to achieve, considering the developments in the pastiche section, which makes the ending as given especially infuriating.

It's not a good Star Trek story, no. It's a stretch even to call it a bad Star Trek story, as that would require calling this a Star Trek story. It could have been one, possibly a good one, even if more of a technical, infrastructure-driven story about rescuing a colony and coping with double the passenger capacity with a skeleton crew. If you must read all the old ST books, read it. If not, you can easily skip this one.

[Baal Of · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book read like a lost episode of the original series. Decently written, kind of fun, a bit goofy, and rather predictable. Not amazing stuff, but an enjoyable read in a nostalgic sort of way.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan of godlike beings, and yes, that includes the Organians. The main characters feel right here, and the Trek science fits. Might be the best of the Bantam series so far.

This might also be the first book to bring in Klingons and Romulans, and the Klingon subplot was pretty fun. Besides being godlike, the main antagonist here quotes liberally from Willy Wonka - this rubbed me the wrong way. The ending was pretty obvious, but it was a quick read.

Goldin was married to Kathleen Sky, author of the earlier book Vulcan! in the same series. He went on to write other novels, and is active on Goodreads. I believe this was his only Star Trek novel.

[Surreysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1982:]. This Star Trek novel is mainstream - so mainstream it could have been an episode in the series. In fact, I wonder if that's how it started out. I have no objections - the young man is clearly knowledgeable about the series, makes no errors of background information, and does not mischaracterize anyone. And that, I suppose, is why the book got published. But, just as the first ST movie was a rehash of an old episode, so this novel, too, bears a striking resemblance to one of the "79 jewels". And its form is as old as the story of the sphinx: a riddle must be solved to gain the prize (which is not to say it isn't a good form - obviously it's proved itself by sticking around!) Still, I found it a little ho-hum - good enough to be gulped down in one morning.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read from the original Trek novel series, Trek to Madworld reads a lot like an episode of the original series - though it would've gone way over budget on special effects. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise have to save nearly 700 colonists who are slowly dying of radiation poisoning, but are sidetracked by Enoliw, a near-omnipotent being who wants their help (along with the crews of a Klingon and Romulan ship) in solving a problem.

The book's fairly well written and the main characters are all in character, if you get my meaning. There are several new faces that also fit into the story very easily. It's reminiscent of several other Trek episodes, and a few books, but it's an easy two hour read for any Trek fan.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light & funny. A good, easy read.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this may be my favorite of these very early Star Trek novels. It was a lot of fun to read and it wasn't full of groan-worthy moments like a lot of its contemporaries.

[Karen Cowgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Star Trek books!! I first read this a loooooong time ago. I saw it in a used bookstore, and I just had to have it!

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing for a large number of reasons. Most importantly, I think, the book seems to change premise a third into it. The idea of fitting an extra 700 people aboard the Enterprise had promise, and Goldin is particularly adept at having his characters work out problems logically (until the end, that is). Alas, none of this is relevant, because we're whisked into a surreal "comedy" universe at the mercy of a Trelane wannabe. Though meant to be comedy, Goldin's dry style in the opening third (his prose sometimes reads like D&D room descriptions) is a cross-purposes with the rest of the novel's tone. It never becomes funny. Best it can do is whimsy. Just as the opening chapters turn out to be irrelevant, there's a lot more padding to come. Even Kirk is heard to say Enowil's myriad demonstrations become boring after a while, and there's a huge epic starring a non-descript Hero at one point that goes on for pages and pages of who cares. Matika's attempt at sabotage leads her on a side-thread that is just as colorful and irrelevant, especially since her unconvincing romance with the Romulan leads no one to think Enowil is missing LOVE. It's much like her being described as a maverick debater, and then not taking part in the debate scene. Kirk's solution is ok, if not great, but his wish is what takes the cake. If Enowil can do anything, how about just making Epsilon Delta 4 habitable? A lot less convoluted than uprooting a mining colony and dropping them into a Lord of the Rings marathon. I'd still like to read that "stuff 1100 people on the Enterprise" story though.

[Tracy Poff]

The *Enterprise*, on a rescue mission to evacuate a colony, in intercepted by a spatial anomaly. Passing through, they find themselves in a strange bubble of space, and are greeted by a very eccentric, gnome-like man called Enowil, who turns out to be Organian.

Enowil has brought the *Enterprise*, as well as a Klingon and a Romulan ship, into his bubble in order for them to help him solve a problem: his life lacks something he needs to be happy, but he does not know what. Whoever can tell him what it is will receive in return a reward--anything he desires.


Enowil shows them many wonders, demonstrating that he lacks none of the things his guests suggest, but in the end, Kirk concludes: Enowil lacks an audience; people who, like they, exist and act independently of Enowil. For his reward, Kirk asks that Enowil create a planet and relocate the colonists there, and in return the colonists can be the audience Enowil needs.


The story is passable, but nothing special. Goldin's writing is good, though, and he handles the characters well. It's a decent book, and compares favorably to the other *Trek* books available at the time.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one starts well. Spock's personality is on point. The basic premise is interesting too: a planet is causing a radiation sickness and the Enterprise will have have to evacuate a small settlement of people before they die.

But on the way there they're sucked into a hole in space that is occupied by a omnipotent gnome. This lame character wants to know what's missing from their life. So the episode consists of the crew of three ships (romulan, federation, klingon) guessing what's missing and the gnome saying nope, and showing them an example of what they just said. Rinse, repeat, until you're bored.

So the big problem is that the basic premise is tossed aside. Even Spock never finds his place when the gnome is around. But I suppose under all this is still Star Trek. The core elements of the series are here, like tension between species, thinking of the greater good, best options, and big questions. It's better than Planet of Judgment (Star Trek Adventures, #5) but it only just earns 3 stars.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 2 out of 5]

From January 1979, Stephen Goldin's "Trek to Madworld" is a reminder at times of the perils of the early Bantom Star Trek novels with a story that literally goes off the rails far too soon & never recovers. The main plot of the story has the Enterprise headed for Epsilon Delta 4 to see just how fully suitable their request is for full membership to the Federation. En route though they also realize that the entire population is dying a slow death due to conditions within the planet itself that were overlooked. Where this goes south is when the crew enters a spacial anomaly whose keeper is a gnome who has no trouble playing games. Goldin means well with his storytelling & the use of the Klingons is almost a running gag in all of these novels simply because they have to be there. This book itself is one that thankfully is short enough that it won't drive the reader mad for reading it, but is another one from this early era of fiction that shows how far we have come.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the very first Star Trek novel I've ever read. It took me long enough, I guess. I used to have the paperback episode collections from the original series when I was a kid and liked those. I found this one in a neighborhood book box on a recent trip to Seattle, so I decided to read it. I liked the first half more than the 2nd half, and thought it was, for the most part, very much like an episode you might have gotten in the original series. A cosmic imp of sorts traps the Enterprise, a Klingon ship and a Romulan ship in a sort of space bubble and challenges them to solve a dilemma for him. I thought about space travel while reading the book and that no one needs any sleep in these adventures. And that Kirk was really quick to put the moves on a young female guest of his ship. I already forgot her name though. I bet Kirk did too by the time they finished this assignment.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off with a mission and mystery that wouldn't have been out-of-place in the TV series...until it takes a turn for the utterly bizarre. I applaud the author for basically predicting the arrival of Q in TNG by nearly a decade, but the entire novel feels like it just needs one more edit. Suggestions: tone down Kirk's lady-crazy behaviour early on, tweak a few items that have been superseded by changes in the canon, reign in some of the complete bonkers-ish nature of Enowil's reality and play up more the consequences of being an exiled Organian...with only a few tweaks, this book would feel like a contemporary Trek novel from the Pocket Books line. That said, it's definitely one of the stronger outings of the old "Star Trek Adventures" Bantam books series.

[Taaya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, we have racism (of course a black woman must want to get close to the lion, right?), saneism (a character who's behaving a little eccentric is diagnosed just from description as mad, while he's not behaving any more irrational than most neurotypicals) and rape (forcing Spock to go through Pon Farr). Oh, and Insta Love.

And no, the being still doesn't seem mentally ill in the end.

All the while the plot is way too slow, even though it started off okay.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect that I had read this when it originally came out. However, I don't remember it at all. It was so much fun. The author does a fantastic job of recreating the tone of the original series. Sexism included. I much prefer these one and done books, as opposed the the multipart ones that are currently being published.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one. Pretty silly, tbh, but some interesting ideas nonetheless.

The banter between McCoy and Spock is always fun. This time McCoy expresses the assumption that Spock, being Vulcan, has "no wishes or desires." Spock counters " n the contrary, Doctor, I could always have wished for a little less sarcasm from those around me."

[Davinder Sangha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent book. Probably needed more interaction with the TOS crew members, but overall worth a ready. Got through this in a couple of days, so an easy read and a good view of non filmed Star Trek before The Motion Picture was released.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stardate 6188.4 On the way to rescue the inhabitants of Epsilon Dalta 5 who are dying from radiation poisoning the Enterprise is seized by Enowil, along with a Romulan and Klingon ship. Enowil has a problem that needs to be solved.
An entertaining re-read
Star Trek Adventures Number 6

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another dull one. The section on the "Madworld" was so over long and inconsequential. In-story the characters directly acknowledged that the plot was similar to episodes of the show. The incidental characters were fine, but nothing special. Not a lot of good moments from the main cast.

[GB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I waste my time reading this? Nothing here made me care about the characters or the story.

[Mike (HistoryBuff) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give it s 3.5. I agree with most other Trek fans, not the best story, but a good, quick read.

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first third reads very much like an episode: timing, dialogue, everything. Remainder of the book goes totally off the rails.

[Kevin Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad second half.