TekWar

I picked it up on somewhat of a lark when it first came out. I was a pretty decent Star Trek fan, and had bought it specifically because Shatner wrote it. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything that great—after all, this was shortly after Star Trek V had come out. Shatner directed and helped write the story, and it was, in my opinion, the worst thing ever created under the Star Trek banner. But since movies and novels can be very different animals, I took a shot. I have seen rumors that the Tek series was actually ghost written. If true, it's too bad for that person because I found this book a very good read. In fact, it was the first book I remember ever reading that I literally could not put down. I read it straight through, staying show more up until 3 in the morning.

Shatner has created a dark yet compelling future. Most of today’s illegal drugs have been legalized and even mainstreamed—for example, cocaine is commercially and synthetically created and advertised by sports stars. The only illegal drug is “Tek” an electronic hallucinogen that directly stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers with incredibly realistic and addictive “dreams”. The main character, former cop Jake Cardigan, has been in cryogenic prison after being framed for dealing Tek. He gets released early, thanks to intervention by the rich and influential head of a detective agency, in order to team up with his former police partner in the search for a missing scientist who is developing an anti-Tek device. The search takes them to Mexico where he finds the scientist’s daughter (actually an android replica of her), crosses paths with his ex-wife’s former employer and one of the biggest Tek syndicates in the world, and eventually to the Moon. All-in-all a good way to spend a few hours. show less

This is a re-read, probably (eventually) of the whole series. I remember reading these in middle school in the library when they were first published.
Is it kind of cheesy? Sure. Is the writing fantastic? Of course not, its Shatner. Though the writing is *considerably* better than his Star Trek novels (especially the early ones). Does it hold up completely to modern standards? Certainly not. Did I still enjoy it as a light, fast action-y, cyberpunk-y sf read? Absolutely!
Its a lot more bright and shiny sf than cyberpunk, which ran contrary to my childhood memory. While there's elements of 'high tech, low life', most notably fairly light treatment given to drug/tech addiction, megacorps, and organized crime, its not as grounded in that show more thematically as I recalled. There's also a lot more of Dashell Hammet and pulpy detective action influence here than I remembered. Again, not unwelcome, just different. It gets pretty gonzo at times (the WAY brief digression into armed political revolution? the fact that our main character Jake still seems to know important people everywhere?), but if you can live with that its still a fun ride. Maybe some shades of Demolition Man here as well, both in terms of specific plot points and overall zaniness. show less

Ghostwritten, but the core concept of Shatner's - "Star Trek and TJ Hooker" does shine through. The future sounds a lot like a 50s noir pastiche. The core idea of Tek is one part holodeck, one part soma. strangely similar to Vurt feathers. But it never really takes off, the south of the border, spanished infused adventure is hard to get excited about. Man goes from point to point to get some exposition. I was shocked to find it was released in 1990 as the future being painted feels closer to what the 60s could have dreamed up.

Did you ever think that William Shatner might be a good author? You shouldn't, because "TekWar" is awful.

It's a formulaic retelling of a sci-fi detective story which Shatner has obviously written with an eye to the book being filmed (the lead character is perfect for an actor like, say, William Shatner). Apparently it was filmed too but you won't find me hunting down a copy to watch.

Shatner also really needed a better editor than whoever he got. Perhaps said editor was so in awe of Shatner s/he did not make the incredibly edits that needed to be made.

I should probably give this 3 stars but it's Shatner! Bill rates an extra star for his awesomeness. Anyway, a joke on the Simpsons had led me to believe this was one of the worst books ever, but it wasn't so bad. It could have used a real editor to clean it up a little. Too many instances of phrases like "came running" and "came charging" and so forth where you could just say ran or charged. The story itself wasn't bad, a fairly decent sci-fi detective story that borrows primarily from "Blade Runner", though the end dragged on just a bit.

That is all.

This was edited for audio by [a:Ron Goulart|43248|Ron Goulart|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1232934840p2/43248.jpg] who I expect had quite a hand in the initial manuscript as well. I remember thinking it read like one of his novels when I first read this shortly after it came out.

This was better listened to as an abridged audio book than I remember it in paperback. The story is totally cliched, but it rolled along quickly, if predictably. Still, the good Captain wrote & read it, which helped a lot. Plain fun, leave your thinking cap off. Just go with it & enjoy.

Very interesting and imaginative... Good story, and the writing is good. I'd like to read the rest...