The Return
by William Shatner, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Judith Reeves-Stevens
Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series (Star Trek) (First Trilogy 2), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series — 2), Star Trek: The Original Series (Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series — 2), Star Trek (novels) (1996.04), Star Trek (1996.04)
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Description
Just after the events of Star Trek Generations, on the planet Veridian III, ambassador Spock comes to the humble cairn, or stones, that marks the grave of James Kirk. But he is not granted time to ponder the passing of his best friend. The Borg and the Romulan Empire have a use for Kirk, and with some mysterious alien science they resurrect the fallen captain, who they hope will give them the edge they need to destroy their greatest enemy, Jean-Luc Picard. It will take the combined powers of show more both generations, from Spock and McCoy to Data and Riker, to meet this almost unthinkable new threat. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
The Reeves-Stevenses have done it again—an entertaining romp in which the TOS and TNG crews (with some assists from Julian Bashir) reunite to destroy the Borg. Obviously super non-canonical, but who cares? Kirk is resurrected by Borg + Romulan technology and brainwashed into thinking that Picard killed his family, kicking off a revenge quest. Picard goes on a mission to Borg space where he has to pretend to be Locutus. And Spock discovers that V'ger was indeed an early Borg contact, which has left Borg tendrils in his mind. The whole thing winds up with a three-way mind-meld that made me giggle with delight.
Still really fun, yes there are a few silly elements and some very convenient solutions but its just a really fun time. Great action packed opening.
The Return in the title is very Frankenstein and there’s some interesting body-horror elements and nods to The Thing.
I didn’t understand the Trilex explanation at all, and have no idea how the thingies’s lined up with the other thingies to mark out the thingies... maybe i should have put that in spoiler tag :P .
A thought occurs... there’s a defiant class ship here operating a cloak with a romulan observer as per DS9, but in a manner that is a clear violation of treaties with the Romulans.Including modifying the cloak, which you can’t do without studying it, which presumably show more they’re definitely not supposed to be doing, given the treaty of whatever-thats-called.
Which i have no problem with except that you’d think the Next-Gen crew and especially Riker would have something to say about that given his history with cloaking devices. Isn’t his former captain still serving time somewhere for that?
A few Notes:
* I have 5 of these books but never read the first one Ashes of Eden, and don’t feel like i missed anything.
* I have zero interest in Star-trek ToS, my trek touchstone is Next-Gen, so if your like me, you can still have a good time here. Yes it has Kirk at its core but there’s a lot of story focused on the Next-Gen crew as well.
Also even the Kirk stuff is at least a lot more interesting than anything that happened in the film Generations.
* I normally read books one chapter at a time but i found it best with this one to consume 3 or 4 at least in a sitting. This is a plot which craves momentum.
* If you’ve never tried a tie-in book i recommend you giving one a go if your in a reading slump or feeling low on energy. Since your brain already has most of the world details stored, they require very little mental effort but that doesn’t make them bad literature (even if most of them are ;) ) . show less
The Return in the title is very Frankenstein and there’s some interesting body-horror elements and nods to The Thing.
I didn’t understand the Trilex explanation at all, and have no idea how the thingies’s lined up with the other thingies to mark out the thingies... maybe i should have put that in spoiler tag :P .
A thought occurs... there’s a defiant class ship here operating a cloak with a romulan observer as per DS9, but in a manner that is a clear violation of treaties with the Romulans.
Which i have no problem with except that you’d think the Next-Gen crew and especially Riker would have something to say about that given his history with cloaking devices. Isn’t his former captain still serving time somewhere for that?
A few Notes:
* I have 5 of these books but never read the first one Ashes of Eden, and don’t feel like i missed anything.
* I have zero interest in Star-trek ToS, my trek touchstone is Next-Gen, so if your like me, you can still have a good time here. Yes it has Kirk at its core but there’s a lot of story focused on the Next-Gen crew as well.
Also even the Kirk stuff is at least a lot more interesting than anything that happened in the film Generations.
* I normally read books one chapter at a time but i found it best with this one to consume 3 or 4 at least in a sitting. This is a plot which craves momentum.
* If you’ve never tried a tie-in book i recommend you giving one a go if your in a reading slump or feeling low on energy. Since your brain already has most of the world details stored, they require very little mental effort but that doesn’t make them bad literature (even if most of them are ;) ) . show less
This is a pretty good borg book cloaked in a Shatner novel. Yes Kirk is in this but honestly more of the book is about a big borg scheme. It’s not the greatest story ever but I think if you’d like to read a book with borg content this is worth checking out. The Borg aren’t 100% lore accurate but there are some cool Borg creatures and locations. If you are looking for a book about Kirk doing cool stuff this really isn’t it. It was way different than I thought it would be but turned out good. Also if you are a big fan of Star Trek Generations (do these people actually exist) this novel serves as sort of a direct sequel.
A crossover book, better-written than Shatner's earlier work, "The Ashes of Eden" (this was co-written with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, although Shatner typically avoids crediting them on the cover). This one features an implausible story in which Kirk is raised from the dead in Picard's time to help facilitate a Romulan-Borg alliance against the Federation. Picard and TNG crew intervenes, Kirk fights off his programming in the end, and all is well - except KIRK WON'T STAY DEAD!
This is the second part of the first "Shatner-verse" trilogy. The audiobook is read well by Shatner and is enjoyable to listen to. The biggest detriment of this story is that it happens outside of Star Trek canon. It's enjoyable, it just doesn't fit in with the broader Star Trek story.
Shatner can't stand the idea that Kirk got killed off in the movie Star Trek-Generations -- and I uppose a lot of fans couldn't, either -- so he has the Romulans and the Borg resurrect him, and in doing so send him off to kill Jean-Luc Picard. (Guess Shatner can't stand the idea of Patrick Stewart running the Enterprise, either.)
yes..I know...but it was...great. I actually really liked the story and William Shatner can write! I never actually thought about who was writing it because the story was fast paced and intense.
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Author Information
156+ Works 13,381 Members
William Shatner is an actor and writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on March 22, 1931. He graduated from McGill University in 1952. Shatner made his acting debut at the Montreal Playhouse in 1952 and performed with the Canadian Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. From 1954 to 1956 he appeared in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario show more and in 1956 he made his Broadway debut in Tamburlaine the Great. In 1966, Shatner was cast as Captain James Tiberius Kirk in the TV series Star Trek. The TV show inspired several film spin-offs, the early ones starring the original cast. Shatner directed Star Trek V. He also co-starred in a law-related series on television called Boston Legal with James Spader. In addition to acting, Shatner began a career as a writer of science fiction novels. The first one, Tek War, was published in 1989. Shatner has also written his memoirs, Star Trek Memories. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as The Big Giant Head on the TV series 3rd Rock From the Sun. Shatner's title co-authored with David Fisher, Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man, was a New York Times betseller in 2016. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
55+ Works 11,815 Members
Along with his wife Judith, Garfield Reeves-Stevens writes science fiction and screenplays. They have written Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a behind-the-scenes look at the popular show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, a tribute to the TV series, and the thriller, Icefire. (Bowker Author Biography) Garfield is the author of William Shatner's show more bestselling Star Trek novels and are well-loved Star Trek authors in their own right--their hardcover Star Trek books include "Star Trek: Prime Directive", "Star Trek: Federation", and "The Art of Star Trek". (Bowker Author Biography) show less
41+ Works 11,357 Members
She is the author of William Shatner's bestselling Star Trek novels and are well-loved Star Trek authors in their own right--their hardcover Star Trek books include "Star Trek: Prime Directive", "Star Trek: Federation" and "The Art of Star Trek". (Bowker Author Biography)
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Series
Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series (Star Trek)
9 works (First Trilogy 2)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
63 works (Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series — 2)
Star Trek: The Original Series
97 works (Shatner/Reeves-Stevens series — 2)
Star Trek (novels)
626 works (1996.04)
Star Trek
1004 works (1996.04)
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Return
- Alternate titles
- The Return
- Original publication date
- 1996-04
- People/Characters
- James T. Kirk; Jean-Luc Picard; Julian Bashir; Spock; Leonard McCoy; Salatrel (show all 13); Vox; William T. Riker; Worf; Geordi La Forge; Data; Beverly Crusher; Deanna Troi
- Dedication
- I have another life having nothing to do with acting, directing or writing. It involves my universe of horses, those beauteous creatures whose form and function fill me with delight.
So to that world of horses, to the... (show all) people who trrain and care for my four-footed friends, to the driven, excuse the pun, fellow competitors who try to take the blue ribbon away from me, but most especially to my pals, the horses, I dedicate this book. - First words
- Prologue:
He fell . . .
Alone.
Chapter One:
James T. Kirk was dead. . . . - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And as he had always known he must, James T. Kirl turned his back on the past and rushed to embrace his future.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.54
- Canonical LCC
- PS3569.H347
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 933
- Popularity
- 28,369
- Reviews
- 12
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 7
