The Starless World

Star Trek Adventures #8

by Gordon Eklund

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise become captives in a fool's paradise whose strange inhabitants are more than willing to face the judgment of their angry god--a black hole. Reissue.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Star Trek Original Series, Space Opera, Tv

156 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1978

About the author

Gordon Eklund is a Nebula Award-winning, American science fiction author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s Star Trek TV series. He has written under the pen name Wendell Stewart, and in one instance under the name of the late E. E. "Doc" Smith (1890-1965).

Eklund's first published SF short story, "Dear Aunt Annie", ran in the April 1970 issue of Fantastic magazine and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Eklund won the Nebula for Best Novelette for the 1974 short story "If the Stars Are Gods", co-written with Gregory Benford. The two expanded the story into a full-length novel of the same title, published in 1977.

In his teens, Eklund was a member of a Seattle SF fan club, The Nameless Ones, and in 1977, Eklund was a guest of honor at the 1977 SF convention Bubonicon 9, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Cushing Memorial Library of Texas A&M University has a "Gordon Eklund Collection" housing the typed manuscript of the story "The Stuff of Time".

Eklund has retired from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, and is considering writing full-time again. He's a member of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association and the Spectator Amateur Press Society.

Reviews

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't anything special. Kinda drug in places. 2.5 stars

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before there were the hundreds upon hundreds of Star Trek novels, there were "Star Trek Adventures"...and they were...okay...

The crew encounter a Dyson Sphere full of small humanoid creatures who are unaware that they live in a Dyson Sphere - which also happens to have an enclosed star that may be a god, or a super computer, or an incredibly powerful alien and is hurtling towards a Black Hole (apparently, because the "god" is suicidal, I guess) ? Even Spock concedes that not only is the existence of a god possible, but that a star could also be a god...and maybe all stars are actually gods...**cough** bullshit **cough**...he does state that it could also be a super-computer because the furry aliens inside are from a civilization that has destroyed itself and rebuilt itself many, many times, so they may have built a god-computer during one of those times...

There are also Klingons (including a sexy, Klingon lady), Kirk speaking with a "god", primitive indigenous inhabitants, an outside force of kind-of-mercenaries, lots of talk about native, hairy boobs - and Uhura's boobs...Holy crap! Is this Star Trek V!?!?!?

I mean, if you want to read a "less-refined" version of "The Final Frontier" go for it...and I did because "I need my pain!!!"...otherwise, yah, no...skip it. :)

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly compact, surprisingly intense, surprisingly philosophical "Star Trek" story that manages to be enormously epic yet wonderfully intimate. The climax is a bit (well, more than a bit) rushed, but it's a minor irritant in an otherwise satisfying adventure.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stardate 6527.7 The Galactic Core. The Enterprise discovers a Federation shuttlecraft from the ship USS Rickover, that disappeared 20 odd years ago. The craft contains one crew member, Thomas Clayton, who disappeared 5 years previously. Soon they are caught within a large planet.
An enjoyable re-read
Star Trek adventures No.3

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has plot elements encountered in the television show - strange technology, sensor glitches, a technologically superior being (or deity?), the threat of destruction. This is a lot to cover in one "episode" (or 150 page book).

The characters are well written here. Also like the episodes, one of the characters gets a focus - this time it is Uhura. Things that happen with the ship are believable, and the encounters with the Klingons a nice addition.

That said, the Klingon subplot wasn't completely resolved, nor was the Thomas Clayton affair. I firmly believe there are better restraints on the Enterprise, and his escapades were only there to clumsily move the plot along. On television, our main cast would have mused about the Strangers before fading to credits - that was missing in this book.

The pocketbook version of this travelled with me to three countries - Canada, Finland, and Estonia. I ended up spending more time on an e-reader than with this, which is perhaps telling. 3 of 5 stars.

[Adonay Quetzal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather fun read that plays more on Star Trek's history of asking philosophical questions rather than a lot more of the action driven novels in some of the spin off series like New Frontier or SCE. The cover art is a tad bit misleading as the Klingons are more of an accessory to the story rather than the main focus. For fans of Spock, this is a must read.

[Murphy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I can't recall a single plot detail, I remember being really struck by this one. I read this (along with Eklund's other Trek novel) at a time in my young life when I was emersed in the Original Series adventures of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest. What I truly loved about this and the other Eklund Trek novel is how they offer a somewhat alternate version of the Enterprise and Her crew. The tone of these novels doesn't exactly match that of the show, and the characters don't quite speak or behave the way they do on the show, and I remember finding that to be exhilarating!

[Vega :)]

antireligiös propaganda. wordbuildingen var sjuk ändå, man älskar ju en dyson sphere! och Uhura var väldigt välskriven!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though unworthy of being considered "canon," THE STARLESS WORLD does just enough right to capture some of that old-timey STAR TREK TOS magic. Yes, it's all pretty silly and by-the-numbers, but my inner twelve-year-old couldn't help but eat it up. Still, I have several complaints. At one point, Kirk pointlessly antagonizes a group of Klingons by claiming to wish them dead. Only by divine intervention (literally) does he manage to avoid being murdered on the spot. Such comments are especially strange, considering he later goes out of his way to save the Klingons' lives.
Another thing that annoyed me was Kirk's security detail. I actually laughed out loud when Kirk scouted a dangerous area before signaling his security team that it was safe to enter. Um, isn't that a little backwards? (In another scene, a prisoner is able to escape because the security team is playing cards with their backs turned.) This book makes lots of lame excuses for why Kirk needs to constantly put himself in danger rather than rely on other members of his crew, but, heck, that's STAR TREK for you.
Kirk's effectiveness at using a stick to fight off a large bear wins him the undying love of the only young female living on the entire "starless world," but, unfortunately, her resemblance to an Ewok precludes anything in the way of mutual romance. Poor Uhura has it particularly rough. Not only does she get part of her soul devoured, she also runs into her long-lost father--a plot twist so unlikely, the book doesn't even attempt to explain it.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sociological Star Trek from the 70’s, analytical and original. Utilizing the endlessly fascinating sci-fi concept of a Dyson Sphere, “The Starless World” offers smart and plausible speculation on the function of an imagined society with good plotting and solid storytelling.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Originally written for only my viewing over a year ago. Potentially outdated, and generally all over the place due to this. I did edit out some bits that were less relevant and fixed some sentences that weren't all that coherent though, so I hope that makes it more comprehensive.
*ALSO POSSIBLY MILD SPOILERS, but not enough to warrant the spoiler button in my opinion (although I'm not sure that matters much for a book several decades old anyway to be fair..)


Oh this book… this fucking Book was a Challenge. In a weird way?? So, I had known from the back there seemed to be a significant religious undertone and theme of God, which is why I chose to read it second because I know I don’t particularly care for these general topics. I will say, I ended up enjoying this book a good deal more than it seemed I would initially since it started so very.. confusingly and also just really boring. That is one thing about this book, it starts very slow. I wasn't sure if it was just me or if it was actually the writing I didn’t care for, but after getting to the middle of this book, I’ve realized it’s actually just not a good start. However, once I got about visually halfway through, it actually started to become engaging enough that I didn't feel like it was a chore to get through. In fact, there is something I need to specify that I absolutely did enjoy greatly about this book, and that is the CHARACTER INTERACTIONS. I need to go into some more detail on them briefly: one of the first most memorable moments I actively found myself not only loving, but that also felt fitting with the tv series was Spock and McCoy’s riddle chapter. The entirety of chapter 15 (pg 73) was just McCoy being bored and pestering Spock with a riddle that Spock, predictably, answers in his sterile and heavily autistic-coded way. That was genuinely such a hilarious interaction, I was audibly laughing at it. That is also the point in the book when I did officially begin enjoying it. Another character detail I enjoyed was a scene where Sulu was with Ola in their house, and to pass the time he was showing her magic card tricks. It was so cute, which brings me to another detail I wanted to discuss. Ola is such a good little character! I absolutely grew to love her throughout this book, especially towards the end. I’m also really really happy she didn't end up dying, but the book does make you think she might at one point! Which I thought was a highly engaging detail and plot twist. There is also a chapter or two set through Uhura’s perspective. I found this to be EXTREMELY exciting since it isn't a perspective often explored in the series (if at all) and I enjoyed it so greatly. There is a moment she contemplates love and I think it's very endearing.
The overall story of this book with the sun god and the strange listless people was confusing and weird without making much sense or feeling as though it had any deeper significance or meaning, but I think there are still good enough aspects to the whole of the book that make up for the fact that I personally did not feel compelled by the story at almost any point in the book. It did become more engrossing towards the end, story-wise, especially the very end when Kirk and Ola talk directly to Ay-Nab, but it's still enough of an incoherent (and SLOW) plotline that I would not quickly recommend this book to anyone, even Star Trek fans. I don’t think it should be avoided entirely by any means, and perhaps the concept could be fascinating to somebody with more of an interest in the concept of religion and its relation to scientific logic than I. Regardless, overall, I found this book to have ended up being quite a good time, albeit not a “good book” in the typical sense of the word.

EDIT: OH YEAH I wanted to also say, this technically would be rated 3 and a half stars if goodreads would let me do that... just wanted to clarify.. it's better than Mudd's Angels

[Tracy Poff]

The Enterprise is at the Galactic Core, charting black holes and searching for signs of Klingon activity, when they encounter a Federation shuttlecraft, identified as coming from the USS Rickover, lost more than twenty years prior.

The shuttlecraft is piloted by a madman calling himself Jesus Christ, who Kirk recognizes to be Thomas Clayton, Kirk's old roommate at the academy (he must have had a lot of those--in Star Trek Log Seven , we learn that he had a Klingon roommate named Kumara, who returns in Star Trek Log Ten ).

Clayton has come out of a Dyson sphere which the Enterprise soon finds itself pulled into. They find within a place called Lyra (McCoy initially suggests Pellucidar as a name), apparently ruled over by a god called Ay-nab, who is the sun.

Nothing very interesting happens for a hundred pages or so, and Kirk telepathically convinces Ay-nab to send the Enterprise back out before the whole Dyson sphere falls into a black hole. Spock ends the story unsure of whether the most logical explanation is that Ay-nab is a god, a telepathic computer, or what. The end.

Although there's a little exposition about what Ay-nab is doing (punishing the Lyrans for repeatedly starting wars), it's not satisfying.

The only alien that gets any meaningful amount of 'screen time', Ola, doesn't do much other than wring her hands and follow Kirk around, until she saves them all with the power of love. When we meet her, Kirk's appraisal isn't terribly inspiring:

Kirk now had a chance to study the alien female more carefully. Her bare face struck him as very human; in fact, she was almost pretty. Her lips were thin and expressive. Her eyes were round and pink. The top of her head was as hirsute as her body. She had no ears. Her breasts were small, firm, and very feminine. She was young, Kirk guessed, and childless.

The Starless World (1978-11), 49

And half the book later, when Ola has risked her life to help Kirk find Uhura (who had been kidnapped):

Spock was cautious. “I wish you could be certain Lieutenant Uhura is indeed there.”

“I'm as sure as I'm going to be.”

“Unfortunately, you have only the word of the female.”

The Starless World (1978-11), 124

Well, it's not just Kirk and Spock who don't seem to think much of women, either:

Well, thought Uhura, turning on her right side, now, wasn’t that odd? Here she was thinking about Mr. Spock, while beside her slept poor Chapel, who was in love with him, very possibly dreaming of the same man. Spock did not love Chapel.

The Starless World (1978-11), 87–88

Even Uhura doesn't think of Chapel except in relation to Spock.

Enough nitpicking. The book's not very interesting. Dyson sphere, hollow world, whatever. It's been done. By Trek, even. Ditto the space god ruling over the primitive people who once had more advanced tech. It's like Trek's Greatest Hits Volume 3: More B-sides.

Pass.

[Hyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recently, I began reading these Star Trek novels, and for the most part I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I expected something like TV episodes in prose form, but many of them have actually been solid science fiction stories that just happen to feature the crew of the Enterprise.

The Starless World is not one of those.

The setup is something we’ve seen many times before: the crew encounters what appears to be a generation ship—on a collision course with a black hole—whose inhabitants have no idea they’re even aboard a vessel. (Technically, it’s a Dyson sphere around a star, but functionally it’s the same idea.) The Enterprise becomes trapped, and the crew must escape while saving the inhabitants.

If this sounds familiar, it should. It closely resembles The Galactic Whirlpool and World Without End, but without the sense of urgency or narrative drive that made those stories work.

Instead, the characters spend most of the novel wandering aimlessly from one uninteresting situation to another, with very little momentum or payoff.

Eventually, we meet the “god” at the center of it all—a telepathic stellar entity. When Kirk finally communicates with it, the reveal is… underwhelming. This supposedly all-powerful being turns out to be petty, shallow, and strangely human. Its grand plan? To drag the entire Dyson sphere—and everyone in it—into a black hole because the inhabitants repeatedly destroyed themselves in cycles of nuclear war.

Which raises an obvious question: if it’s powerful enough to build a Dyson sphere and shepherd it across the galaxy for thousands of years… why not just, I don’t know, leave them alone?

The resolution is even worse. At the height of the crisis, a native woman declares she is willing to sacrifice herself. The “god,” moved by this, abruptly spares everyone and teleports the Enterprise to safety. Our heroes are saved—entirely through someone else’s intervention, not through their own ingenuity or effort.

The novel closes with a baffling exchange between Spock and Kirk. Spock suggests the entity was likely a supercomputer. Kirk rejects this as irrational and instead leans toward the idea that it was literally a god.

This feels completely out of character. Kirk—the same man who routinely challenges false gods and exposes them as advanced beings—is suddenly arguing for a supernatural explanation? It’s not just unconvincing, it undermines one of the core themes of Star Trek.

In the end, The Starless World takes a familiar idea and somehow makes it both tedious and nonsensical. A disappointing entry in an otherwise enjoyable run of novels.

Two thumbs down.

[Ian Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Eklund and my first Star Trek book (or, to be honest, any book created from characters in a TV show or movie). Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this, especially given its short length, but as a big fan of The Original Series, I figured I'd give it a shot. Of course, any book that involves a Dyson Sphere is something that will capture my attention.

Although the book is short, I can see this story easily fitting in to a standard Original Series episode nicely. The plot is intriguing without being overly complicated, and it manages to pack a lot of thought into a short space. It's a quick, fun read that isn't really deep, and it's certainly not the best story of its kind that I've read, but I still enjoyed it. If you're looking for a quick read that isn't completely devoid of meaning, then this is probably for you.

[Tyler Balaskovitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Star Trek book. Gordon Eklund has written this story twice. One is the Star Trek Devil World and then there is the Starless World. Both have a planet they can't escape from, a daughter longing to meet their father, a shaft to climb down into the center of the planet, and the list goes on.

The problem is the book doesn't seem to know the direction it wants to go in. It tries to juggle Uhura's story with Ola's, Domo's and the Klingons with the villain and our sympathizers somewhat in between.

At its worst, the author makes sure to spell things out for the reader when no additional explanation is needed.

If you're looking for a Trek book you haven't read, give it a spin to relive Devil World, but otherwise, I can't recommend it to someone who is just getting into TOS books.

[Michel Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eklund's first use of a sentient star (he would win a Nebula for If the Stars Are Gods) manages to fit the Star Trek universe rather well. We have a god-like being performing miracles and proper philosophical conundrums, as well as bits of action and alien girls falling for Captain Kirk. And while we saw a Dyson sphere in TNG's Relics, we actually get to visit this one and find out how it came to be. Uhura is particularly well-served in this story as Eklund gives us a rich background for her in just a few efficient paragraphs. There are some red herrings like the whole Klingon subplot and Thomas Clayton's revenge ambitions against Kirk (who blew the whistle on his cheating at the Academy), which just don't get proper resolutions, but overall, it's a strong SF story where the cast is recognizable and well-written.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eklund writes Spock marginally better this time around, though it's still embarrassingly 'off.' At times you can see Eklund wrangling with the fact that he doesn't know how to write Spock, overexplaining simple lines he gives.

Kirk is also marginally better. Here at least he doesn't fall headfirst for the only female alien that shows up, though he's still asking for ideas from the entire crew any time he comes up against the slightest hardship.

Some random Klingon cameos that will never go anywhere, sadly. And, again, it all boils down to a supercomputer (I guess? Although it's left ambiguous, and we're REALLY supposed to believe that it was actually a star god trapped in a Dyson sphere ...).

Overall it just ... it feels enough like a Trek book to pass, but the ending is WAY off the rails and it's suddenly something completely different. Woof.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Enterprise gets trapped in a Dyson Sphere--a huge sphere 93 million miles in diameter that's built around a sun, so people can live on the inner side of the sphere. There's enough space for trillions of beings, but the only intelligent life is a small village of natives and some Klingons who had early gotten trapped. Also, the sun is apparently a sentient being with god-like power. Finally, the sphere is moving towards a black hole.

It's an intriguing premise and the book--though a little slow-paced--unfolds the mystery effectively as Kirk and crew try to figure everything out and escape from the sphere. The author also catches the crew's personalities effectively--though there are a few times when Spock's dialogue isn't quite... "Spocky" enough. It's a good, though not great, Star Trek novel.

[Otis Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, this here is the eighth book in the old Star Trek Adventures series, and it's a mighty strange tale. Cap'n Kirk and the boys run across a planet that ain't got no sun. It's just floating out there in the dark like a lost mule. But here's the kicker: the inside of this planet is hollow, and there's a whole world living right on the inside walls! To make things wilder, an old Federation scientist has gone plum crazy, holed himself up in there, and started playing God to the local folks. Poor Spock gets his brain hijacked and ends up fighting Kirk. It's a real hoot seeing the logical fella lose his marbles. That whole hollow-world concept is shinier than a new dime. If you love old-school Trek and can sit through some slow talking, it's worth a gander. Otherwise, you might just want to leave this dark planet lost in the woods!

[Saya · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Por qué sigo leyendo estos libros, con lo malos que son? En este caso me ha venido a la cabeza la serie de animación. La historia no está mal y no deja de ser un episodio clásico más, pero la narración es aburrida: Kirk hace esto, Uhura mira de tal manera, Spock arquea una ceja, McCoy suelta una frase. Una mujer hermosa quiere casarse con Kirk, otros quieren matarlo. Es como si alguien narrase objetivamente un partido de fútbol: tedioso a más no poder. Y por último, el haberse topado con un ser tan excepcional (una estrella que es un dios), ¿no debería haber dejado huella en el "lore" de la serie clásica? Vamos, ni Q, casi (aunque sea de la siguiente serie). En fin, entretenidillo pero aburrido. No lo recomendaría.

[Excel Lifestyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the very first Star Trek books back in the day. Captures the original Star Trek spirit but has a weak plot. The Enterprise and a Klingon ship get pulled into a Dyson sphere with the inhabitants claiming that the sun is their god, how will Kirk and co escape? Good setup with some interesting happenings but falls apart in execution because of a very sudden and anticlimactic ending. Really could have used another 100 pages or so.

The author won a nebula for a short story about god like aliens living in stars/being stars and that idea is reused here. If that concept interests you, you might find this worth the read, otherwise leave it for collectors only.

[Bowdoin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable story, engagingly told, and perfectly situated in the world of Star Trek. The amount of tension, mystery, and science is enough not only to make this a viable product for an episode of the series, but I believe this is weighty enough to have been a whole feature length film.
Full length review linked below.

https://bowdoinplumer.wixsite.com/the...

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a goose egg for this one compared to most of the others in the series so far. No interesting incidental characters, no signature main character moments, just felt very routine. There were a few good Uhura scenes but nothing to really make it worth the 150 pages. Maybe the Dyson Sphere aspect of the plot was supposed to carry the reader's interest but there really was not much in the way of detail there to even make it a notable part of the story.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una storia di Star Trek, fuori canone, ok, ma è sempre una storia di Star Trek.
Eklund onestamente ha scritto di meglio, ma nel complesso la caratterizzazione dei personaggi è abbastanza azzeccata e l'idea di fondo abbastanza in linea. La resa complessiva però non è eccellente, e alcuni punti deboli della trama si fanno sentire.

[Romy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for readers who're fans of Star Trek TOS (like me), otherwise 2 stars. It really feels like a typical TOS episode (with all the good and the bad aspects), just in written form. A quick, but rather unmemorable read with a very plain style of writing and outdated expressions. The German translation is quite cringy...

[Mike Goggin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was interesting, but the author got most of the characters wrong, especially Spock. The resolution to the plot also arrived much too quickly, occurring in the last 10 pages. It felt like the book was supposed to be much longer but the ending was edited down to fit in a confined space. Overall, I didn't care for the resolution.

[Karl Stark di Grande Inverno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primo romanzo di Star Trek TOS che leggo.
Carino, una lettura veloce senza troppe pretese; buono per passare qualche ora con le atmosfere della serie tv.
Sicuramente meglio dei fumetti di TOS della Gold Key.

[Jonathan Waugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shares a lot of both the positive and negative points of the original Star Trek TV series on which it is based. I enjoyed reading it, but I think a 3/5 is fair. Stylistically, it opts for a lot of very short chapters (about 6 pages on average).

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirk and crew explore a Dyson sphere… I really enjoyed this short, fun little book. Loved it!