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Star Trek: The Original Series #63
Shell Game
While on the routine mission to retrieve a research drone for recycling, the U.S.S. Enterprise™ encounters a Romulan space station adrift within Federation borders. Exploring the lifeless station, the crew finds ghostly apparitions flitting at the edges of sight.
Soon the U.S.S. Enterprise is also inexplicably without power. Captain Kirk and his crew must now solve the mystery of the strange apparitions before the Starship suffers the station's fate.
The situation becomes desperate when a Romulan warship arrives looking for the station, and the Romulan Commander accuses the Federation of treachery. Before Captain Kirk can save the Starship Enterprise from complete destruction, he must avoid becoming drawn into a deadly shell game -- a game that will leave no winners and no survivors...
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1993
About the author
Melissa Crandall
14 books19 followersAbout 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to spend four hours with an Asian elephant named Belle, and her keeper Roger Henneous. That occasion changed my life in ways I never anticipated, and led to the writing of my latest book, THE MAN WHO LOVED ELEPHANTS. The manuscript is complete and with my agent, Bonnie Solow, and will soon be submitted to publishers. Stay tuned for more news!
I cut my amateur writing teeth on fanzines--Star Trek, Star Wars, Elfquest, and others--so it was only natural that my professional teeth would emerge courtesy of media tie-in novels for Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Earth 2. Since those long-ago days, a collection of short fiction has appeared, as well as a limited-run self-published endeavor, appearances in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and most recently a Halloween-themed anthology. My fiction has appeared in "Allegory," the tri-annual online magazine of SF, Fantasy & Horror, and in "Amoskeag: The Journal of Southern New Hampshire University." My nonfiction has been featured in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society," the blog "The Wild Ride - Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer's," on the writing podcast The Drunken Odyssey, in the ASPCA's "Animal Watch," "Strides," the magazine of NARHA/PATH Inter'l, and various newspapers. I've even appeared in two cookbooks!
I'm hopeless at organized sports and follow no teams. I love to bike, hike, and just take walks, anything to be outdoors and, preferably, among animals. I live in Connecticut with my husband, our Australian shepherd Holly, and ancient surfer-dude cat, Tuna.
I cut my amateur writing teeth on fanzines--Star Trek, Star Wars, Elfquest, and others--so it was only natural that my professional teeth would emerge courtesy of media tie-in novels for Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Earth 2. Since those long-ago days, a collection of short fiction has appeared, as well as a limited-run self-published endeavor, appearances in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and most recently a Halloween-themed anthology. My fiction has appeared in "Allegory," the tri-annual online magazine of SF, Fantasy & Horror, and in "Amoskeag: The Journal of Southern New Hampshire University." My nonfiction has been featured in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society," the blog "The Wild Ride - Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer's," on the writing podcast The Drunken Odyssey, in the ASPCA's "Animal Watch," "Strides," the magazine of NARHA/PATH Inter'l, and various newspapers. I've even appeared in two cookbooks!
I'm hopeless at organized sports and follow no teams. I love to bike, hike, and just take walks, anything to be outdoors and, preferably, among animals. I live in Connecticut with my husband, our Australian shepherd Holly, and ancient surfer-dude cat, Tuna.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 24, 2025
This novel takes place after The Motion Picture and prior to The Wrath of Khan. It was written before the canon between the two movies was more clearly established, but if I had to place it, I'd say it fits best at the end of the second five year mission, around 2277.
The writing of this novel is frustrating, as the author can't seem to get out of her own way. Her writing has entirely too much exposition, so much so that it gets in the way of the flow of the story. Along with pages of unnecessary exposition, there's dialogue with beat and exposition breaks so long that it often seems like characters are replying to the exposition rather than the previous character's comments. At least fifty pages of text could have, and should have, been removed.
All this is a shame because the story is actually quite good. And thankfully, it finally gets going in the last third of the book, which moves my rating up from 2 out of 5 to 3.5 out of five
The writing of this novel is frustrating, as the author can't seem to get out of her own way. Her writing has entirely too much exposition, so much so that it gets in the way of the flow of the story. Along with pages of unnecessary exposition, there's dialogue with beat and exposition breaks so long that it often seems like characters are replying to the exposition rather than the previous character's comments. At least fifty pages of text could have, and should have, been removed.
All this is a shame because the story is actually quite good. And thankfully, it finally gets going in the last third of the book, which moves my rating up from 2 out of 5 to 3.5 out of five
May 9, 2018
For a "quick" read this one was brutally dull.
May 20, 2018
The way I rate Star Trek books is according to how well the author writes the characters and how well the spirit of the series comes through. This book felt like a really good episode of the original series.
November 1, 2017
Mediocre at best.
January 6, 2016
I have many fond memories of this particular book since it was the very first novel of Star Trek that I ever read. Even it's a first edition with yellow protection on the border of the pages! Gosh! How I loved when they used to do that on US books! Back in 1993, I was already a Trekker but you have to picture that I live in Costa Rica and by then, cable didn't exist (at least here) so, even that DS9 was starting to air at US, here it was just something that I read from magazine articles, I even need to read the "Emissary" novel to know the premises of that "new" Trek series. TNG was on air here but not so fast as one can expected, if I am not mistaken, we were like in the middle of the 4th season, when at US it was already the 6th season. And about the movies, I was able to watch "The Undiscovered Country" at a cinema theater (the previous ones I catched them on TV). You see, here on Costa Rica, "Star Trek" wasn't a big deal when I was a kid, they even didn't air it! Geez! So, my sci-fi TV series from my childhood were "Lost in Space", "Space: 1999" and "Battlestar Galactica" (original one), so my introduction to Star Trek was due the happy event of catching "The Wrath of Khan" a saturday afternoon while I was visiting my grandparents' house. I liked a lot and still is my favorite Trek film but back then I wasn't a Trekker yet. Then, one friday night, in a local channel, they aired something called "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and I started to watch it, since I never watched before "The Original Series" (I did it later when the great cable TV came to my life) so I wasn't in the struggle of the hardcore Trekkies deciding if they will accept that new series or not. For me in that moment was like, okay, Kirk is on films and Picard is on TV, ok, cool, life goes on. But even then, I wasn't a Trekker, I was just a person who enjoy to watch Star Trek stuff, and then... "The Best of Both Worlds" got into my life and never, NEVER was the same! THEN I became a Trekker!!! Along side with this story, there was my story about reading books, by then I was really into reading horror books (in Spanish at that moment) and already reaching a very good level at reading books on English, so all those elements and events went to take "Shell Game" from a shelf in a bookstore. When I read the premise that it was like a horror story in space with the Original Crew (and most important, from the cover I noticed that the story must be located on the films' era. Very important to me at that moment since back then it was the era that I knew about the Original crew), I said to myself: "Why not? It seems interesting." and the rest is history. Thanks to this book I was able to enjoy a lot of great stories of Star Trek universe and I am still enjoying them, but the start of my Trek books was here on "Shell Game". It's a great novel with a delicious ambiance, having the Original crew wandering into the darkness (pun intended ;) ) of a desolated Romulan space station. I won't spoil the book with explanations but I can assure you that this book can easily being the closest thing that you'd ever read of a ghost story in a Star Trek novel. Highly recommended.
November 21, 2019
Investigating a derelict Romulan space station which has crossed into Federation space, Spock and an Away Team find themselves trapped as the power slowly leeches away.
Crandall has written a good novel in the finest traditions of the 'Star Trek' legacy. She has captured the essence of McCoy excellently and the only drawback is that the story ends too soon.
Crandall has written a good novel in the finest traditions of the 'Star Trek' legacy. She has captured the essence of McCoy excellently and the only drawback is that the story ends too soon.
August 26, 2024
TOS #63: Shell Game by Melissa Crandall
Surprise McCoy novel! I was surprised to find this book focuses a lot on McCoy’s POV and I was happy because McCoy is probably my favourite, if not one of my favourite Star Trek characters overall. It also focuses on Kirk and mentions the rule that Captains limit how many away missions they go on and there’s a funny line mentioning how stupid it is and that Kirk hopes it doesn’t sound around. Given the context of TNG, it was funny. This book was ok to decent overall though. Crandall has a really good grasp of the characters, particularly McCoy as I was reading his words and actions felt very much like him.
The creature they encountered was like a less terrifying version of the thing from Nope. But there’s been far more interesting creatures or comzans seen in TOS, and Star Trek as a whole. The finale was largely enjoyable with Kirk trying to outsmart a Romulan commander with little to no power on the ship. This was basically TOS’s take on the Mary Celeste. Overall, the book was enjoyable but the creature behind everything wasn’t interesting enough and we don’t even learn what it is. There’s the usual plot twist of it being pregnant, which is a weirdly recurring trope in Star Trek.
Anyway, I would rate this 7/10
Surprise McCoy novel! I was surprised to find this book focuses a lot on McCoy’s POV and I was happy because McCoy is probably my favourite, if not one of my favourite Star Trek characters overall. It also focuses on Kirk and mentions the rule that Captains limit how many away missions they go on and there’s a funny line mentioning how stupid it is and that Kirk hopes it doesn’t sound around. Given the context of TNG, it was funny. This book was ok to decent overall though. Crandall has a really good grasp of the characters, particularly McCoy as I was reading his words and actions felt very much like him.
The creature they encountered was like a less terrifying version of the thing from Nope. But there’s been far more interesting creatures or comzans seen in TOS, and Star Trek as a whole. The finale was largely enjoyable with Kirk trying to outsmart a Romulan commander with little to no power on the ship. This was basically TOS’s take on the Mary Celeste. Overall, the book was enjoyable but the creature behind everything wasn’t interesting enough and we don’t even learn what it is. There’s the usual plot twist of it being pregnant, which is a weirdly recurring trope in Star Trek.
Anyway, I would rate this 7/10
May 27, 2024
Star Trek: TOS: Shell Game by Melissa Crandall - 63rd in the series
Challenging, emotional, funny, hopeful,
inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
edium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75 Stars
This was a fun story, revolving around and unknown alien entity and the Romulans. Three to four different POVs, which was fun.
Not exactly sure of the timeline for this story. The cover has the crew in the monster maroon uniforms, but said something about Chekov being a year into his security stint (or something). It threw me off.
Loved the banter, as usual with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. That's and old staple, and it should always be the core of the story IMO.
Still wondering what type of Space Station it was that Romulans built. The configuration (interior) seemed odd. Wondering if that's the norm for the Romulans, or was that a special type of space station?
Sucks to be a Red Shirt, it really does.
On to the next story.
Challenging, emotional, funny, hopeful,
inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
edium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75 Stars
This was a fun story, revolving around and unknown alien entity and the Romulans. Three to four different POVs, which was fun.
Not exactly sure of the timeline for this story. The cover has the crew in the monster maroon uniforms, but said something about Chekov being a year into his security stint (or something). It threw me off.
Loved the banter, as usual with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. That's and old staple, and it should always be the core of the story IMO.
Still wondering what type of Space Station it was that Romulans built. The configuration (interior) seemed odd. Wondering if that's the norm for the Romulans, or was that a special type of space station?
Sucks to be a Red Shirt, it really does.
On to the next story.
December 25, 2024
Quite enjoyable! The writing was smooth and felt like it was catered to the reader, the characterization was excellent (aside from an overuse of exclamation points that made it seem like people were shouting at odd times), the plot was enjoyable, and it overall felt like a well done classic Star Trek episode.
Other than some rough spots of editing - including one page that had the exact same paragraph repeated verbatim - and a couple of instances of shoddy fact-checking (again, editing), the writing was overall top-notch.
I would have liked a more satisfying conclusion, however, as the way things are left seems a bit... well, irresponsible and dangerous. Our crew was weirdly insouciant about it.
I also found it strained credulity when our crew blindly followed a hostile companion who had already led them astray once without even bothering a cursory check of the other option their own crew member had suggested.
But those are minor gripes. All told, I would revisit this one, and I'd recommend it to a TOS fan easily. 4.25 stars.
Other than some rough spots of editing - including one page that had the exact same paragraph repeated verbatim - and a couple of instances of shoddy fact-checking (again, editing), the writing was overall top-notch.
I would have liked a more satisfying conclusion, however, as the way things are left seems a bit... well, irresponsible and dangerous. Our crew was weirdly insouciant about it.
I also found it strained credulity when our crew blindly followed a hostile companion who had already led them astray once without even bothering a cursory check of the other option their own crew member had suggested.
But those are minor gripes. All told, I would revisit this one, and I'd recommend it to a TOS fan easily. 4.25 stars.
March 5, 2026
I really enjoyed this book. While McCoy isn’t technically the narrator, the story centers on him more than on the other characters. If you enjoy the classic country doctor, you’ll appreciate this straightforward but well-told mystery/adventure.
It captures the TOS vibe extremely well. I do have a few quibbles with Kirk’s characterization in a couple of moments, but overall the author handles the original cast with confidence and care.
The new crew members remind me of how effectively the first DC Comics run incorporated original characters alongside the core cast. They help highlight interesting facets of characters like Chekov and McCoy, with McCoy especially shining as a mentor to the “next generation.”
The story appears to take place between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, and it includes some subtle foreshadowing along with callbacks to earlier adventures—just the right amount of Easter eggs.
I only wish this author had written more Star Trek. It’s a light, breezy, and genuinely fun read.
It captures the TOS vibe extremely well. I do have a few quibbles with Kirk’s characterization in a couple of moments, but overall the author handles the original cast with confidence and care.
The new crew members remind me of how effectively the first DC Comics run incorporated original characters alongside the core cast. They help highlight interesting facets of characters like Chekov and McCoy, with McCoy especially shining as a mentor to the “next generation.”
The story appears to take place between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, and it includes some subtle foreshadowing along with callbacks to earlier adventures—just the right amount of Easter eggs.
I only wish this author had written more Star Trek. It’s a light, breezy, and genuinely fun read.
April 21, 2022
3.5 stars rounding up. This was a generally enjoyable story that is set in the Star Trek original series timeline. It has a lot of the standard clichés that you are used to such as McCoy bickering with Spock, and Scotty doing his thing to get the engines going, and of course Kirk making some key leadership decisions. The story involved the enterprise encountering a sort of ghost ship and so the mystery begins. Generally it was enjoyable although the story slightly dragged at times but overall this was fun. There was a Star Trek story I read last year called the Entropy Effect that I think I liked slightly better than this one. That one involved a bit of a time loop scenario which is always a cool trope in the Star Trek universe. But if you’re a fan of Star Trek I would say check this one out too.
July 6, 2020
A very entertaining read that combines a ghost story with the beloved Star Trek franchise.
A Romulan space station drifts into Federation space surprising the crew of the Enterprise. Spock, McCoy, Chekov, and three security officers beam over to find the massive vessel seemingly without life. As they inspect the ship strange things occur: loss of power, weird lights, and odd smells. Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk is not happy to be staying behind (due to a new Starfleet policy that has captains remain on their ships, leaving the work to the first officer and his or her away team--nice tie-in to the Next Generation series). However, the captain doesn't get to just sit and wait, their are also odd things occurring aboard the Enterprise and he begins to wonder if it could be connected to the space station.
The opening chapter has a famous crew member showing a side of himself I've not encountered before and it was very entertaining, not only for what was said and done but setting the stage for what was to follow. I was impressed that Crandall was able to incorporate a ghost story elements into this tale without them being far fetched. The reveal of what's causing the woes of the protagonists was outstanding and the climax spot on. There were a few actions that were repetitive to the story, though logical for having to happen, though they did knock the book down a peg.
I would recommend this read to anyone that wants to read a tale of the classic Enterprise crew.
A Romulan space station drifts into Federation space surprising the crew of the Enterprise. Spock, McCoy, Chekov, and three security officers beam over to find the massive vessel seemingly without life. As they inspect the ship strange things occur: loss of power, weird lights, and odd smells. Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk is not happy to be staying behind (due to a new Starfleet policy that has captains remain on their ships, leaving the work to the first officer and his or her away team--nice tie-in to the Next Generation series). However, the captain doesn't get to just sit and wait, their are also odd things occurring aboard the Enterprise and he begins to wonder if it could be connected to the space station.
The opening chapter has a famous crew member showing a side of himself I've not encountered before and it was very entertaining, not only for what was said and done but setting the stage for what was to follow. I was impressed that Crandall was able to incorporate a ghost story elements into this tale without them being far fetched. The reveal of what's causing the woes of the protagonists was outstanding and the climax spot on. There were a few actions that were repetitive to the story, though logical for having to happen, though they did knock the book down a peg.
I would recommend this read to anyone that wants to read a tale of the classic Enterprise crew.
March 25, 2024
Probably more a 3.5. I liked the dynamic between McCoy and Spock in this as they are on the away team stuck on the space station with Kirk having to stay behind- well told to stay behind. I liked the parts on the space station the most and until the Romulan ship showed up the Enterprise side of things seemed a little irrelevant but at least that was exciting. That's why this book didn't score higher as it seemed like it wanted to do more on the ship but was getting tied down by the Enterprise details. McCoy was great in the book however but the ending seemed...a bit flat.
Also, the printer or editor made a mistake in my copy and I had a paragraph repeat itself near the end of the book which made me laugh.
Also, the printer or editor made a mistake in my copy and I had a paragraph repeat itself near the end of the book which made me laugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2021
For the casual Star Trek fan, this novel grabbed my attention at the beginning but my interest waned as I waded through the story. The premise is interesting - it's the execution that lacks substance. I feel the author could have done more to show the eerie atmosphere of the abandoned space station.
As the novel repeatedly told us some of the characters were rank of Ensign, we could tell their fate. It took a bit of the shock value away from the events as they transpired.
For the die-hard Star Trek fans, I think this would be a great novel. It centres around the Federation-Romulan relationship, which has been a cornerstone of Star Trek.
As the novel repeatedly told us some of the characters were rank of Ensign, we could tell their fate. It took a bit of the shock value away from the events as they transpired.
For the die-hard Star Trek fans, I think this would be a great novel. It centres around the Federation-Romulan relationship, which has been a cornerstone of Star Trek.
August 8, 2021
I am somewhat puzzled at some of the less-than-favorable reviews of this book. Having been a Trekkie since my youth and having read quite a few ST books (see my list and reviews), I thought this novel was quite good. The McCoy-Spock bickering might have been a little too constant, but the plot kept me eager and as a whole certainly deserving of 4 stars. I can only hope Ms. Crandall will find the time for another Star Trek endeavor.
July 22, 2018
A little overwritten perhaps, and the back cover gives away literally 200 pages of plot, but on the whole it’s a horror-tinged, claustrophobic story that’s decent and better than average Trek novel fare.
September 17, 2022
Shell Game #63
I have love star trek since I saw the original series as a boy.. This book takes me back Into that time. Love the plot love the characters, An overall adjust enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the original series 60 years ago.
I have love star trek since I saw the original series as a boy.. This book takes me back Into that time. Love the plot love the characters, An overall adjust enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the original series 60 years ago.
July 27, 2024
The Enterprise encounters what appears to be an abandoned Romulan Space Station but why is it floating in Federation space. Kirk send an away team, but soon power fluctuations and loss start affecting the ship and the space station.
An enjoyable re-read
An enjoyable re-read
September 10, 2017
Great story, God-awful dialogue.
January 9, 2018
Ended to quickly
June 20, 2018
A nice mystery. The twist at the end was pretty neat. And McCoy had a big part in it. Something I, as a McCoy fan don't see nearly enough!
April 24, 2019
Teilweise ziemliche Logiklöcher - Logikkrater - und auch in der Zeitlinie hat der Roman Probleme. Ansonsten aber gar nicht schlecht.
July 8, 2020
Started off fantastic with an eerie setting for the crew. The ending became a bland Romulans vs federation type battle. Overall there are some great moments that make it worth a look for Trek fans
February 2, 2023
Felt like a shell of a story. (See what I did there?)
February 25, 2024
Very guilty-pleasure coded
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September 27, 2024Good book as I have read it before
October 19, 2024
I enjoyed the book immensely. A rattling good read which will pose some important moral questions to the reader.
January 7, 2025
I do love a good space-derelict story. I thought this was top notch and I was drawn in by the author's style immediately.
November 9, 2008
Finding myself in a sci-fi kick, I found this book on my shelf. I must have had it for over 10 years. So I picked it up and read it again.
This book is a pretty good read. It is competently written, though not amazing. The author does a fair job in giving atmosphere to the book, and she kept my attention throughout my reading. There are a few minor jumps-to-conclusions, but nothing that doesn't go right along with the Star Trek formula. In fact, it would make for a decent episode.
The description on the back of the book is somewhat misleading due to the way that the story unfolds. For that matter, the title of the book doesn't really fit either. But that does not really matter when reading.
Overall I enjoyed it.
This book is a pretty good read. It is competently written, though not amazing. The author does a fair job in giving atmosphere to the book, and she kept my attention throughout my reading. There are a few minor jumps-to-conclusions, but nothing that doesn't go right along with the Star Trek formula. In fact, it would make for a decent episode.
The description on the back of the book is somewhat misleading due to the way that the story unfolds. For that matter, the title of the book doesn't really fit either. But that does not really matter when reading.
Overall I enjoyed it.
May 28, 2010
[These notes were made in 1993:]. This is a nice little ghost story, with Spock and McCoy taking leading roles on the investigation of a Romulan space station found floating inexplicably abandoned, like the Mary Celeste. Eventually, it proves to be yet another one of those energy-eating creatures, glommed onto the station's power source, and somehow reducing everybody's body temperature at the same time. Of course the Romulans show up and accuse the Federation of sabotage, thus endangering everybody's chances of survival, and Kirk pulls his men (and women) out once again - those who weren't wearing red shirts, that is. Quite atmospheric, especially in the early stages of the exploration of the station.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews