Review of
Spock Must Die!,
by James Blish
Four out of five stars
A significant first, although not great
While this
novel does not have a stellar plot, it occupies a significant role in the Star
Trek saga. After the original series was over, Blish wrote a series of paperback
adaptations of the episodes of the original series. This was the first original
novel in what was to become a major series of books starring the characters of
the original series. It was also the first step in several lines of original
material in the Star Trek genre.
The plot is based
on a continuation of the original series episode, “Errand of Mercy.” It
introduced the Organians, powerful creatures that put a stop to the war between
the Klingon Empire and the Federation. It also was the first episode where the
Klingons appeared.
In this case,
the Klingons have somehow managed to neutralize the Organians and launched a
war against the Federation. It is a brutal conflict, so in an attempt to stop
it quickly, the crew of the Enterprise tries to overcome that neutralization so
that the Organians can out a stop to the war. There is an attempt to beam Spock
through the interference to planet of Organia. What happens is that Spock is
duplicated, but not a complete good twin/bad twin split like that in the original
series episode “The Enemy Within.” The duplicate in this case retains Spock’s
full intellect while plotting to do evil.
Kirk and the other
members of the crew must continue to press their attempt to defeat the Klingons
while simultaneously relying on Spock for his aid while making sure that neither
one is given the opportunity to commit malfeasance.
The plot is
weak, other than the first one (The Enemy Within), plots based on transporter
accidents must be very good or they fail. It is hard to believe that such
errors could take place in a device so heavily used. While this is not a great
novel, the fact that it started something great will forever place it on the pedestal
of breakthroughs.
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