Customer Reviews (3)

The Seedling Stars....
James Blish's The Seedling Stars is a collection of three novelettes (Seeding Program, The Thing in the Attic, Surface Tension) and a short story (Watershed).Each is loosely connected by internal chronology and subject matter: pantropy (the modifications of humans for live on other planets instead of terraforming).The quality of the stories--published between 1952-55--is somewhat uneven although they remain Blish's most famous.

(4/5) Seeding Program

This story examines the beginnings of the the practice of pantropy.Sweeney, an Adapted Man, is placed by the Terran Port Authority in a colony of Adapted Men and their chief scientist on the moon Ganymede.His task, bring the fugitives back to Earth so he can become human.Sweeney eventually discovers that during his sheltered life under a dome on the Moon he was indoctrinated with lies about the Adapted Men.He eventually realizes that he'll never become human and decides to remain with his new family.He assists in the launching of the new seed ships from Ganymede which head off across the galaxy to find suitable planets for pantropy.

I really enjoyed this story.I was expecting slick 1950s space ships and was pleasantly surprised when Blish describes a much more feasible spaceship of modules placed in a metal framework.The scientist and his Adapted Men is very similar to the plot of Star Trek's The Wrath of Khan and the follow up episodes in Star Trek: Enterprise.I suspect Blish might have been an early inspiration...

(2/5) The Thing in the Attic

The Thing in the Attic is by far the weakest selection of the collection.A group of renegade furry Adapted Men on a heavily forest planet are cast down into Hell (the ground level of the forest filled with dinosaurs) for believing that the Gods (the original human planet seeders) don't exist but are instead symbolic.These renegades figure out how to defeat the dinosaurs (a system of genocide -- destroying their eggs).Some die.The two survivors come across their "Gods" who have returned to the planet to check on the progress of the furry monkey-like Adapted Men.

Blish has fun with describing the world but ends up advocating the massive destruction of species (the dinosaurs).He apparently feels it's justified since the Adapted Men are figuring out how to survive in their new environments and thus act more like animals -- well maybe more like Kudzu, unfortunately introduced to the US causing the massive destruction of native species.

(5/5) Surface Tension

This story, although continuing the worrisome theme described in The Thing in the Attic, deserves to be read for it's extraordinarily inventive.A seeding ship crashes on a water world with a single island (with some fresh water ponds and rivulets).The survivors carry out their original project of seeding the world but with the knowledge that they will never return to their own homes.

The "humans" they develop are almost microscopic and are placed in the fresh water ponds.PETRI DISH BATTLES ENSUE.The microscopic Adapted Humans (with lungs, etc) fight the vicious rotifers, enlist the aid of Parameciums, and with the help of inscribe metal tablets left by their primogenitors eventually develop a two inch "space craft" that crawls along the bottom of the pond out of the water onto land.

This is a wonderfully well realized little novelette.The various microscopic organisms are lovingly described by Blish.A kaleidoscopic adventure worthwhile for its sheer inventiveness...

(4/5) Watershed

Although a very short short story (which should have been expanded), Watershed examines the bigotry held by the "original form" humans (now a minority) for the other various unusual looking Adapted Men.A spaceship crewed with "original form" humans is sent to Earth -- which has become a desert wasteland -- with seal-like Adapted Men to reintroduce man to the planet.The "original form" humans are faced with the unusual position of watching the home world of the human race being reseeded by Adapted Men.

Considering this story was written in the 50s, the discussion of racism is very admirable.However, Blish should have expanded it substantially.The impact of the reseeding of Earth is too dramatic for this cursory treatment.

Delicate stories of human adaptation
The book is a compilation of stories: 'A Time to Survive/Seeding Program' (54 pages), 'The Thing in the Attic' (33 pages), 'Surface Tension' (64 pages) and 'Watershed' epilogue (9 pages).

In 'Seeding Program' Donald Sweeney is a young man who has been altered so as to be able to survive on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. He has been raised completely alone and his job is to bring the leader of refugees, The Adapted Men already at Ganymede, to justice. If he succeeds to infiltrate, he may get a reversal of his adaptation and live in Earth. But things are not quite what they seem; the government who sends him to the mission hasn't told him the whole truth. The story ends at escape of the surviving refugees from Ganymede. The seeding of stars begins.

In 'The Thing in the Attic' the off-springs of the seeding program live in a trees where any heretic statement against prior giant legends are condemned to the horrifying ground level. The fear of the ground dominates this planet. This part is about the adventures of the exile group in pre-historic environment.

In 'Surface Tension' we find out that one of the seeding ships ship wrecks to a waterworld and human genome must be radically Adapted to survive. This is *truly* unique story where survive actions happen at microscopic level. These humans escape from horrors of rotifer (smaller thank plankton) and build tiny "space ship" to explore world by rising above the water's surface.

The 'Watershed', The final story, is set in millennia in the future where humans have adapted virtually everywhere. The genetic modifications are so vast that the the original human is now in minority. This is the story of an Adapted returning to see unhabitable earth.

Five (5) stars. This 1957 compilation is Blish at his best. He takes a striking idea, adaptation, and let's the stories carry on the pictures. The prose is thoughtful, though provoking and deep. The overall balance and what is to be human is told in the final 9 pages eloquently: imagine an Adapted Human to tell the Original Human, that his days have come to an end. Timeless, wonderful reading.

Classic sci-fi...
The stories in this book, by James Blish, are the standard by which I judged all other stories.These stories were some of the first, next to H.G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, and a few others.The author of such greats as Cities in Flight and A Case of Conscience has given us a series of short stories about mankind's evolution and exploration of the stars.Each story is like a photograph of this journey of man.Surface Tension is very likely the most famous of the stories.Get it, used or new. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Adaptations of some of the first episodes of the original series. Some deviations from the plot are a step backwards
This book contains some of the first adaptations of episodes in the original Star Trek series written by James Blish. Published in 1967, the mindset of the sixties regarding what is acceptable is still very apparent. As is the case in all of the other adaptations done by Blish, he does not stick precisely to the plot of the episode. In most cases, it is a debatable point as to whether the changes are an improvement.
The episodes adapted in this book are:

*) Charlie X
*) Dagger of the mind
*) The man trap
*) Balance of terror
*) The naked time
*) Miri
*) The conscience of the king

The adaptations of episodes in the original series served a very important role in the transformation of Star Trek from a television show with a science fiction format into a massive cultural movement. They were the first Star Trek books to appear, and helped prove that there was a market for such books. However, as a Star Trek purist, I often find the changes from the original episode to be a deficiency.

The First of 12 Star Trek Adaptation Books by James Blish
James Blish began adapting the stories of the original Star Trek television show in 1967.The first paperback book was titled "Star Trek," and has been retitled "Star Trek 1" in this hardback reissue.This handsome hardback book contains seven stories from the first season of the television show.

The first story is "Charlie's Law," which was the second episode of the first season.Charlie was rescued from the planet Thasus after being marooned there for 14 years, the sole survivor of a crash.The crew of the rescuing ship, the Antares, remarked that Charlie was sweet and remarkably intelligent.However, Charlie is more; much more.Soon the crew of the Enterprise is fighting for their survival as Charlie reveals the true extent of his abilities.

The second story is "Dagger of the Mind," which was the ninth episode of the first season.The Enterprise visits a penal planet where Dr. Simon Van Gelder sneaks aboard ship.Dr. Tristan Adams asks whether Dr. Van Gelder has gone aboard the Enterprise, and warns Captain Kirk that Van Gelder has mental problems.However, things are not as they seem and Captain Kirk soon finds that undocumented activities are taking place at the penal colony; activities that could cause Kirk's death!

The third story is "The Unreal McCoy," which was the television episode titled "The Man Trap," the first televised episode of Star Trek, 8 September 1966.The Enterprise has stopped at planet Regulus VIII for a routine medical checkup of Dr. and Nancy Bierce (called Crater in the television show).Soon crewmen begin dying, and suspicions slowly arise, complicated by a relationship between Nancy Bierce and Dr. McCoy.

The fourth story is "The Balance of Terror," which was the fourteenth televised episode of the first season.The Enterprise is there when a Romulan ship breaks through the neutral zone with new weapons and a cloaking device.Captain Kirk reenacts "The Enemy Below" (except for the part where Robert Mitchum rams the German submarine) as the Enterprise plays cat and mouse with the invisible Romulan ship.The Enterprise will sustain casualties!

The fifth story is "The Naked Time," the fourth televised episode of the first season.When the Enterprise travels to an unnamed planet to retrieve a science team, they discover the scientists are all dead.Mr. Spock obtains a sample of a liquid that appears to be water, but very strange water in that it is liquid in sub-zero temperatures.The crew of the Enterprise soon begins acting strangely, and the mayhem begins.

The sixth story is "Miri," which is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes and which was the eighth televised episode in the first season.The Enterprise visits a planet where the sole inhabitants are children, but the children may be 300 years old.Soon the crewmembers that beamed down to the planet are aging rapidly and begin acquiring homicidal tendencies.Can Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock find an antidote to the strange disease before Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others succumb to its effects?

The final story in this volume is "The Conscience of the King," the thirteenth televised episode of the first season.The Enterprise has been illegally diverted to Arcturus because a friend of Captain Kirk believes he has seen the mass murderer Kodos the Executioner in a Shakespearean troupe.Initially Kirk is skeptical, but further investigation reveals that witnesses to the murders of Kodos have been dying when the Shakespearean troupe visit.Is Karidian Kodos, and who is killing off the witnesses?Since Kirk is one of the witnesses, is he next?

James Blish did a marvelous job of adapting the television episodes.Sometimes Blish made modifications to the story to make it work better for a written short story, but Blish kept the intent of the story as faithful to the television series as possible.

Fans of the original Star Trek television series have several options to obtain the written stories of the original television series, but this particular option is one of the most beautiful.Enjoy!

Note:All the information regarding episode numbers was derived from the web site imdb.com.

7 stories adapted from season 1 of the original series
First published in 1967, these short stories are Blish's adaptations of the screenplays of various episodes from the original series' first season. The episodes aren't sorted into books according to either chronological order or identity of screenwriter.

Note: If you're interested in adaptations based on the animated STAR TREK series, see Alan Dean Foster's Star Trek Log books.

"Charlie's Law" (episode 8 "Charlie X", season 1, screenplay Dorothy C. Fontana, from a story by Gene Roddenberry). Young Charlie Evans, now a teenager, has only recently been rescued from the unexplored planet Thasus, where he was stranded at age 3 as the sole survivor of a crash landing; ENTERPRISE is picking him up from the cargo ship ANTARES. Spock's natural question - how did such a young child survive? - seems urgently in need of an answer as Charlie, caught in a normal youngster's emotional turmoil together with complete ignorance of ordinary human interaction, grows increasingly frustrated - and mysterious accidents happen to the objects of that frustration.

"Dagger of the Mind" (episode 11, season 1, screenplay S. Bar-David) (Title is from a line in MACBETH, the hallucinatory scene just before the first murder.) Tantalus V is a penal colony - not to be confused with the insane asylum of "Whom the Gods Destroy". After the former director, Dr. Van Gelder, turns up as a stowaway after a routine visit, ENTERPRISE returns to Tantalus V to find out just what the failed experiment was that affected Van Gelder's sanity. Like "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", the preceding episode, notable in that Kirk beams down with a female crewmember, Dr. Noel, rather than the Spock/McCoy combination that became so common; Spock is back aboard ship handling other aspects of the problem.

"The Unreal McCoy" (episode 6 "The Man Trap", season 1, screenplay George Clayton Johnson). ENTERPRISE has arrived at planet M113 for routine medical checkups of archaeologists Nancy and Robert Crater - not knowing that they're evading the examinations because Nancy isn't really Nancy, but the last survivor of an alien race gifted at illusion, and Crater would rather pretend she's real than completely lose even the illusion of his late wife. Trouble is, the alien lacks self-control, can be deadly - and can pass for just about anyone.

"Balance of Terror" (episode 9, season 1, screenplay Paul Schneider) First story featuring the Romulans, the Romulan Neutral Zone, and their cloaking technology that formed the linchpin of a later episode. Until this incident, no Federation representative had ever had visual contact with a Romulan, so their relationship with Vulcans was unknown (Mark Lenard, who played the Romulan Commander, was later cast as Sarek, Spock's father). The Romulans receive a very sympathetic portrayal here, being treated as people rather than stage props, with their own dignity and honor; when they pull a very clever trick to try to escape, our sympathies may lie with them rather than the Enterprise.

"The Naked Time" (episode 7, season 1, screenplay John D.F. Black). This episode was somewhat contrived as a character-development device; a contagious illness picked up on the dying planet Psi 2000 has the effect of removing inhibitions - a bad time for it, as the ENTERPRISE only has a narrow window to escape from the planet, only having come there to rescue a now-dead research team. Ensign Riley, whose drunken takeover of the engine room and subsequent endless singing over the intercom system is memorable, is also a major character in "Conscience of the King", below.

"Miri" (episode 12, season 1, screenplay Adrian Spies). Tracking an old radio-signal distress call across light-years to its source, ENTERPRISE finds a planet that appears to be a duplicate of Earth, where all the inhabitants seem to be children. (Miri, the first 'child' they meet, is on the edge of adolescence, and develops a crush on Kirk - while she's willing to help, she's also jealous.) McCoy digs up laboratory records on planet revealing that longevity experiments had some nasty side effects, turning an intended blessing into a plague: while physical childhood now lasts centuries, the onset of puberty brings rapid aging and death - not only has the landing party has now been exposed, but Miri is entering the danger zone.

"The Conscience of the King" (episode 13, season 1, screenplay Barry Trivers) (Title is taken from HAMLET, 'The play's the thing wherein we'll catch the conscience of the king.') Visiting an old friend, Thomas Leighton, on Planet Q, the two attend a theatrical performance - and Tom reveals his belief that Anton Karidian, the head of the touring company, is actually Kodos the Executioner, guilty of a massacre twenty years ago which Tom and Kirk survived, although it cost Tom most of his face. (Kirk isn't positive about the ID - it's been twenty years, after all.) After talking with Tom, Kirk chats up Karidian's daughter - and together they find Tom's murdered body.

After that, Kirk pulls strings to ensure that the Karidian company is stranded on Planet Q, so that ENTERPRISE can offer them transportation without arousing suspicion - transferring Ensign Riley, who also survived the massacre as a child, to engineering to get him out of harm's way. Kirk doesn't confide in Spock, at first - but Spock, becoming suspicious, finds the missing link on his own, together with the disturbing fact that of the handful of survivors who could identify Kodos, most have died suspiciously while the Karidian company was nearby.

Amazed at the time, less so now
Back 25 or so years ago when I bought this book, it was among the first Star Trek books I ever got.Perhaps the first one.As an adaptation of the original Star Trek episodes "Charlie's Law", "Dagger of the Mind", "The Unreal McCoy", "Balance of Terror", "The Naked Time", "Miri", and "The Conscience of the King", it contains some of the most powerful Star Trek stories.Blish did a good job of adaptation.I must've read this and the rest of the series umpty zillion times before switching to something else.I ended up getting all twelve books plus "Mudd's Women".Good stuff.

This is a must have for Star Trek fans!
This book has adaptions from these episodes of the television show:"Charlie X," "Dagger of the Mind," "The Man Trap," "Balance of Terror," "The Naked Time,""Miri," and "The Conscience of the King."It truly isa must have for all Star Trek fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

While sometimes flawed, the adaptations by Blish helped keep the Star Trek flame alive
The set of adaptations of the episodes of the original series by Blish served a fundamental role in the growth of the Star Trek phenomenon. After the original series ended its' three year run, the usual fate would be to be a significant curiosity, but still a curiosity. However, the adaptations helped to feed the flame, being the first books to be published in what has become a major "Enterprise."
The episodes adapted in this volume are:

*) Patterns of Force
*) The Gamesters of Triskelion
*) And the Children Shall Lead
*) The Corbomite Maneuver
*) Shore Leave

As was the case with the others, the authors take some poetic license with the material, altering some of the dialog and scenes to reflect the print medium. As a fan of the show, there are times when I think it diminishes the story and other times when I think it enhances it. This volume is a bit different from the others in that Blish died before it was completed, so some of it was written by J. A. Lawrence (Mrs. James Blish). To me, there was a clear change in the style and in my opinion for the better.
Star Trek fans love all things Trek, and I am one of the originals. I loved these books when they first started coming out in, purchasing them as soon as they appeared on the racks. While they have their flaws, they were a harbinger of the great things that were to come.

Adaptations of 5 episodes, some from each season
First published in 1976, these short stories are Blish's adaptations of the screenplays of various episodes from the original series. The episodes aren't sorted into books according to either chronological order or identity of screenwriter.

"Patterns of Force" (episode 52, season 2, screenplay John Meredyth Lucas) Federation historian John Gill disappeared on the planet Ekos 6 months ago; searching for him, ENTERPRISE finds a major violation of the Prime Directive in progress: Ekosian society has been rebuilt for technological efficiency using the Nazi paradigm - and all the evil baggage that goes with it. How much control does Gill have over the situation, and what be done to repair the damage?

"The Gamesters of Triskelion" (episode 46, season 2, screenplay Margaret Armen) are bodiless intelligences whose only thrill in life is to arrange gladiatorial combats between their slaves, kidnapped from many worlds, and wagering on the result. When they kidnap Kirk, Chekov, and Uhura from a routine inspection of an automated monitoring station on Gamma II and bring them to Triskelion, the action is divided between ENTERPRISE's efforts to track them down and the captives' efforts to understand Triskelion culture and free themselves - and the thralls raised in captivity, if possible.

"And the Children Shall Lead" (episode 60, season 3, screenplay Edward J. Lakso). One of the few Trek episodes featuring children. In this case, all the adult members of the Triacus expedition are found dead upon ENTERPRISE's arrival, apparent suicides, but their children are unhurt, even unaffected by their parents' deaths. The Triacus expedition accidentally awakened Gorgan, a hibernating alien presence on the planet, who manipulates the children by offering them power in exchange for helping it regain its own power. Some nice character-revealing touches as Gorgan awakens the adults' worst fears. However, the original episode is flawed by trying to have it both ways, both with Gorgan coercing the children and having them cooperate freely.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" (episode 3, season 1, screenplay Jerry Sohl). [One image from this episode graced Trek's closing credits throughout its run.] On a routine survey/mapping mission, ENTERPRISE makes first contact with the Fesarius, in the person of Captain Belok, an alien of fearsome appearance who paradoxically condemns ENTERPRISE to destruction because of the *Federation*'s violent tendencies. In response to Spock's analogy of checkmate, Kirk changes the paradigm to poker, responding with a bluff: claiming that the ENTERPRISE carries a 'corbomite'-based weapon that'll make any alien victory a Pyrrhic one.

"Shore Leave" (episode 17, season 1, screenplay Theodore Sturgeon aka Edward Hamilton Waldo); the animated sequel "Once Upon a Planet" can be found in STAR TREK LOG 3. Finding an uninhabited and apparently peaceful planet, Kirk agrees with McCoy that it's ideal for some long-overdue shore leave. Ironically, it's more suited to the purpose than they know: a long-gone alien race modified it as a resort, in which the master computer is set to create *any* scenario a guest might desire - potentially very dangerous to those with uncontrolled imaginations. (Kirk, remembering an old Academy rival, for instance, inadvertently conjures him up, and they eventually have a long drawn-out fistfight.)

The mix of episodes used to create this volume is weak, apart from "Shore Leave".

Note that 2 episodes - those featuring con man Harvey Mudd - were never adapted by Blish: Stephen Kandel's episodes "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd" (he wrote a sequel, "Mudd's Passion", for the animated series later on.) I don't count "The Cage", as I consider that to have been covered by "The Menagerie". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Jacks are odd, the Jack of Eagles is the oddest Jack
"Jack of Eagles" is a good book about Danny Caiden who discovers that he has esp,i.e., psychic powers, and decides to learn more.He soon finds that the ratio of 'scientific' fact to psycobabble is rather small.However, he also crosses paths with a dangerous group of psychics and is forced to try to use his developing powers to 'save' the world.It is a good and satisfying story that ties up a lot of loose ends by the happy ending.

The novel was written in the early 1940's or there about and has an air of the times about it.The 'girlfriend' who attaches herself to Danny is quite decorative and interestingly gypsy.At the time that WWII started, the normal card deck temporarily acquired a fifth suite of cards, called eagles.Since the eagles suite was an oddball, the Jack of Eagles would be even odder than the other Jacks, and, thus, even wilder than the phrase, "Jacks are wild." might suggest.In any case, this is the title used in Britain.A different title was used in the USA (possibly; "Esper".Though I am not sure my memory got it right.)

I liked the story because it treats psychic powers with a 'scientific' mode of thinking, much like anything to which engineering might be applied.In that respect, the story is more of a science fiction story in concept than a fantasy.And, an actual science-based object is used as a central concept in the story.

Whether you like science fiction or fantasy, read this story.

Super Reader
Danny Caiden is the Jack of Eagles. However, when the novel starts, Danny is just a writer working for a trade publication. He has always had the talent for finding things. An example is given of a drunk friend at a party ringing up and asking where he has put his ski wax, and Danny tells him immediately what it has fallen in to.

Encountering another friend, he gets to talking about probability, and decides to see what else he can find. In a probability sense this means gambling, on the stock market, and horse racing.

This brings him to the attention of some gangsters, and avoiding them he decides to find out more about psychic abilities, contacting some researchers.

Soon, he learns there is a secret society, the Brotherhood, all composed of people like him. Danny's abilities are growing, making them want to recruit him. He opposes their politicals and ethics of superiority to normal humans, and escapes to discover there is an opposing force to these people.

With abilities rapidly increasing, and the understanding of the mathematics of probability and psi abilities, Danny is able to venture through different realities to attempt to thwart his opponents, and get the FBI to believe he is not a criminal.

The most enthralling book on ESP ever.
It's all about Danny Caiden, who discovers that he has ESP.But the Brotherhood of psychics wishes for him to be destroyed because of his enormous potential.HE goes through everything to stay away from them, and eventually solves his problem by destroying their headquarters. But that'snot the end...

It's the best scientific book on esp.
It's all about this guy who find's out he has esp, but he's attacked by these people who want to prevent him from growing his powers. When he meets a mathematician who creates formula's he can use to increase his powers andperceptions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Pales in comparison to Cities in Flight
Blish's flagship work is his tour-de-force Cities in Flight (CIF) collection, which undoubtedly towers over this mere dingy of a novel. Where CIN is sophisticated like a rich, heady wine that lingers on the pallet, And All the Stars a Stage (AASS) is like a cheap draft beer which aims to quickly quench an urge.

With the comparison now aside, a look into AASS doesn't require a very detailed survey. There's an odd contrast with fairly vocabulary (none of which had me running for the dictionary) and generic, stereotypical science fiction words (i.e. `telefax,' `vocoder,' `astrogator' and `solidiograph'). The general approach to the novel via this writing technique makes me think that it's aimed at the 1960s-70s teenage market. The `big' words will make them wow while the cheesy words will make them daydream. But, for an adult reader, the reading feels immature.

The plot is developed with haste but isn't as sloppy as one would think with the novel only being 191 pages. Here is where Blish gets his `A' for effort. His inclusion of the Familiar creature, which is man's new best friend, is an interesting addition but is developed into the plot very poorly, almost superficially. Another `A' for Blish is the surprise ending, which even shocked me... and I can predict nearly every ending. It's out of the blue and far fetched but still a solid twist to the last 3 pages. But a common failure amongst older novels (50s-70s) is the format. The book feels divided in two stories and glued together at a later time, where some plot items don't get properly developed.

Relish CIF, but it's best to give AASS a single read and throw it in the `return' pile.

Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense
This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story.No warp drives here.Well ok.Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age.It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short.Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff.Made for a quick read.
4. Character development.Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story.No extra characters are added if not needed.The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending.Great ending in this case.Well worth the read.(I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think.Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book.Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.

Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense
This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story.No warp drives here.Well ok.Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age.It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short.Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff.Made for a quick read.
4. Character development.Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story.No extra characters are added if not needed.The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending.Great ending in this case.Well worth the read.(I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think.Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book.Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.

Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense
This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story.No warp drives here.Well ok.Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age.It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short.Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff.Made for a quick read.
4. Character development.Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story.No extra characters are added if not needed.The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending.Great ending in this case.Well worth the read.(I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think.Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book.Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.

Fantastic tale
This is science fiction about as good as it gets.I read this a long time ago and have read it many times since.A starship prepares to take a group of inhabitants of a planet doomed to destruction.Our unlikely hero slowly emerges as a natural leader.The society described is eerily similar to our own with some differences.

The travelers have adventures on several worlds and almost despair of ever finding one but at last they do. And, of course you know it's Earth.It is early China and they have arrived to see Earth's first king.The epilogue was such a quiet yet powerful summary.Chinese scientists recorded a bright light in the sky in 1086.It is, of course, the travelers's sun going Nova. And, you see, the Chinese astronomer who recorded this event in the imperial records is unaware that he is an ancestor of a union between Chinese and the aliens.

Terrific writing, mesmerizing in fact.A real winner. ... Read more

Product Description
A volume containing James Blish's trilogy, "Dr Mirabilis", "Black Easter, the Day After Judgement" and "A Case of Conscience". They include such diverse themes as the tormented visions of a 13th-century prophet and the apocalyptic night when God is vanquished and all the devils are unleashed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Darkover novel
I love the darkover series, and needed this to complete my collection.
The book was good and the product was not new, but in good enough shape to read.Good story!

back jacket summary
from the back cover of the September 1990 Daw paperback edition
cover illustration by Richard Hescox
The Heirs of Hammerfell plunges us straight into the midst of a devastating clan feud between two of these realms-Hammerfell and Storn-just as Storn has struck what may prove Hammerfell's death stroke, setting the ancestral castle ablzae, slaying its lord, and sending its lady fleeing into the night with her twin infant sons, Alastair and Conn.
Conn is separated from his mother that fateful night, but she and Alastair find sanctuary in Thendara City, among the wealthy and the laran-gifted.Yet Conn, too, survives, to be raised in secret among those who would see Storn overthrown.But it is not until Conn's laran manifests that the fates of the twins are finally, inextricably linked in a pattern which could bring a new beginning or total ruin to Hammerfell and its heirs...

one of the weaker Darkover novels
The Heirs of Hammerfell is a Darkover novel set in the time of the Hundred Kingdoms.Like the other Darkover novels, this book can stand on its own with no need of having read the preceding books in the series. At the time this book was published, it was the first Darkover novel to have been released in Hardcover and it was the first new Darkover novel in a five year period.Unfortunately, this is not among the best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's work.

This novel is the story of the duchy of Hammerfell and the result of its ancient blood feud with neighboring Storn.The novel opens with the aging (40 something) Duke of Hammerfell taking Ermine as a wife.She gives birth to twin boys.When they are perhaps a year old, there is an attack by Ardrin of Storn.Their home is destroyed, and their father murdered.Ermine escapes, but gets separated from the man carrying the younger son, Conn. Each boy is raised believing that they are the only surviving heir to Hammerfell.Alastair is raised by his mother in the Hastur capital city of Thendara.Conn is raised by Markos, a family retainer, in the mountains of Hammerfell.

This is the story of twins, separated at a young age, and their attempt to regain the duchy of Hammerfell from their ancient enemy of Storn.The two are reunited eighteen years later, and what could have/should have been a major conflict in the book is shuffled to the side with minimal contention between Conn and Alastair.This book is as much of a romance as the adventure that it hinted at being.

I like the Darkover series, but this is perhaps the worst of the books that I have read so far.There is very little actual conflict (even though it had such a great set-up), and what conflict there was got resolved with so little fuss that it hardly seemed worth it.I would recommend this book only if you were looking to read all of the Darkover novels.As each book stands on its own, there is no reason to read this to complete your understanding of the story, and this should certainly not be the first book you read if you are starting the series.It's just not that good.

Weak? Yes.Terrible? No.Enjoyable?I thought so.
The story is more simplistic than Bradley's best work, yes.

It is not the best Darkover story, and not one I'd advise starting off with.

However, for those familiar with the setting, it's an enjoyable tale, perhaps on par with _Star of Danger_: fun, light reading in a familiar world.

Lightweight story.
This books feels like the author might even have been thinking of writinga Darkover children's book. There is almost no conflict. What should havebeen a tense story of twin brothers separated from infancy, each of whomthinks he is the sole heir of the kingdom, works out far too neatly andwith unrealistically little fuss. The main reason to get this book would beto complete a Darkover collection. I wouldn't seek it out otherwise. ... Read more

Product Description
You can do a great deal if you have enough data, and enough time to compute on it, by logical methods. But given the situation that neither data nor time is adequate, and an answer must be produced ... what do you do? A story from the classic science fiction magazine ASTOUNDING, edited by the legendary John W. Campbell, Jr.! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Blish manages to capture a great deal of the tension and action of the episodes
A few years after the original Star Trek series was cancelled, a phenomenon began. Once the series went into syndication it was a staple of the afternoon television fare and a publishing "enterprise" also began. The books where James Blish adapted episodes from the original series were the first steps in the development of what has become an enormous genre.
In this book, Blish adapts the episodes:

*) The Savage Curtain
*) The Lights of Zetar
*) The Apple
*) By Any Other Name
*) The Cloud Minders
*) The Mark of Gideon

None of these episodes even cracks the upper half of my rankings of episodes in the original series. However, Blish makes the paper expenditure worthwhile by engaging in some of his best writing in this series of books. He manages to capture a great deal of the tension and action of the episodes, something that can be especially difficult in a science fiction series. It is still a worthwhile book to read.
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Customer Reviews (3)

While these adaptations do not precisely follow the original series, but they are a vital component of the Star Trek phenomenon
When they are compared to the Star Trek novels that appeared later, these adaptations of the episodes of the original series by James Blish appear weak but they are still a vital component of the evolving Star Trek phenomenon. The series of books containing Blish's abbreviated adaptations of the episodes of the original series appeared shortly after the series was cancelled and helped keep the movement alive. The copy that I read for this review was originally published in April of 1969 and was already in the eighth printing by March of 1972. That clearly demonstrates that it was a significant part of the Star Trek legacy.
In this book, Blish wrote adaptations of the following seven episodes:

*) The Trouble With Tribbles
*) The Last Gunfight
*) The Doomsday Machine
*) Assignment: Earth
*) Mirror, Mirror
*) Friday's Child
*) Amok Time

While Blish generally keeps to the storyline of the episode, there are some significant deviations. When I read this book shortly after it first appeared, that fact disappointed me and it still does. However, I understand the sense of that approach, for these books were designed to expose Star Trek to people who didn't follow the original series with the passion that I did. Kathy, my beloved fiancé, is always amused when we watch episodes of the original series and I start spouting the dialog word-for-word a few seconds before it actually occurs.
As an original Trekkie, the lack of precisely following the original storyline still bothers me. However, the logical part of me understands the reasons for it, so I still give the book five stars.

While these adaptations do not precisely follow the original series, but they are a vital component of the Star Trek phenomenon
When they are compared to the Star Trek novels that appeared later, these adaptations of the episodes of the original series by James Blish appear weak but they are still a vital component of the evolving Star Trek phenomenon. The series of books containing Blish's abbreviated adaptations of the episodes of the original series appeared shortly after the series was cancelled and helped keep the movement alive. The copy that I read for this review was originally published in April of 1969 and was already in the eighth printing by March of 1972. That clearly demonstrates that it was a significant part of the Star Trek legacy.
In this book, Blish wrote adaptations of the following seven episodes:

*) The Trouble With Tribbles
*) The Last Gunfight
*) The Doomsday Machine
*) Assignment: Earth
*) Mirror, Mirror
*) Friday's Child
*) Amok Time

While Blish generally keeps to the storyline of the episode, there are some significant deviations. When I read this book shortly after it first appeared, that fact disappointed me and it still does. However, I understand the sense of that approach, for these books were designed to expose Star Trek to people who didn't follow the original series with the passion that I did. Kathy, my beloved fiancé, is always amused when we watch episodes of the original series and I start spouting the dialog word-for-word a few seconds before it actually occurs.
As an original Trekkie, the lack of precisely following the original storyline still bothers me. However, the logical part of me understands the reasons for it, so I still give the book five stars.

The Third of 12 Star Trek Adaptation Books by James Blish
James Blish began adapting the stories of the original Star Trek television show in 1967.The third paperback book was titled "Star Trek 3."This paperback book contains the seven stories of the original book adapted mostly from the second season of the show, with one story from the third season of the television show.

Note that all episode numbers are the order in which the episodes originally appeared on television.

The first story is "The Trouble with Tribbles," which was the fifteenth episode of the second season.The television show was one of five Star Trek episodes nominated for a 1968 Hugo Award, the winner being "The City on the Edge of Forever," collected in "Star Trek 2."The Enterprise is delivering grain to a planet in dispute between the Klingons and the Federation.Lovable little tribbles interfere by eating all the grain, but the little critters discover that the grain, and Klingons, does not agree with them.This story is one of Star Trek's best.

The second story is "The Last Gunfight," which was the sixth episode of the third season, titled "Spectre of the Gun" on television.The Enterprise enters the Melkotian system with the intent of inviting the Melkotians to join the Federation.The Melkotians seem intent on remaining outside the Federation, and soon members of the Enterprise find themselves adjacent to the OK Corral and an impending gunfight.Mr. Spock may hold the key to the salvation of them all!

The third story is "The Doomsday Machine," which was the sixth episode of the second season.This episode was another 1968 Hugo Award nominee.The badly damaged Constellation and the Enterprise must fight a machine that munches on entire planets.How can two starships fight a device that uses entire planets for fuel and has an impervious hull?Sometimes terrible sacrifices must be made to save a galaxy.

The fourth story is "Assignment:Earth," which was the twenty-sixth and final televised episode of the second season.The Enterprise travels into Earth's past, only to discover an alien beaming to Earth with incredible technology.What is Gary Seven's intention?As Mr. Seven attempts to sabotage a rocket Captain Kirk must make a decision that could either destroy the human race or insure its survival.

The fifth story is "Mirror, Mirror," the fourth televised episode of the second season.The television episode was yet another 1968 Hugo Award nominee.Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, and Lt. Uhura are beaming aboard the Enterprise when they discover they are in an alternate universe.In this alternate universe the members of the Enterprise's crew are ruthless, with assassination being a popular means of promotion.The four members must keep their origin secret while learning how to return to their own universe.This story is based on one of the best Star Trek television episodes.

The sixth story is "Friday's Child," which was the eleventh televised episode in the second season.The television episode on which this story was based was quite daring in its day, as it showed a child in danger and a brutally cold woman that showed no qualms in sacrificing her child.The landing party has a difficult time trying to meet the prime directive while negotiating with the locals, and dealing with Klingons who are less concerned with polluting the local culture.

The seventh story in this volume is "Amok Time," the first televised episode of the second season.The televised episode was yet another 1968 Hugo Award nominee.We have observed Mr. Spock to be as emotionless as possible throughout the first season of the show.However, Vulcan mating rituals require Vulcans to observe a particular custom periodically, or die.Spock returns to Vulcan, but he also returns to betrayal and plots.In order for Spock to extract himself from an impossible situation, Captain Kirk may have to die!

James Blish did a marvelous job of adapting the television episodes.Sometimes Blish made modifications to the story to make it work better for a written short story, but Blish kept the intent of the story as faithful to the television series as possible.

Note:I derived all the information regarding episode numbers from the web site imdb.
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Product Description
With All of Love collects all of the previously unpublished and/or uncollected poems of the legendary science fiction author, James Blish. This is a numbered collector's edition of 150 copies. ... Read more

Product Description
UK edition. "Cities In Flight" novel. Classic science fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Solid foundations, weak characterization
Book 2 of 4 of the the Cities in Flight series is the shortest, but it packs in a great amount detail about the Exile history from Earth, the mechanisms of the Cities and about general life onboard. The reader follows Chris from his humble upbringing in Pennsylvania to his unwilling assignment on the City of Scranton to his bright-eyed transfer to the City of New York.

Besides the enlightening detail about the Cities in Flight universe, Blish makes a brilliant attempt to impose a dark shadow over the morale of the passengers (as opposed to the Citizens) and also of the pessimism of the people. Some Cities can't find a contract on a planet as many of the closer moons and heavenly bodies have already been speculated. The City of Scranton and the City of New York must look far into deeper space to find a toehold for their existence. Little did either City know just how their fates would intertwine.

The only negative phase of this book is the transparent and seemingly forceful portrayal of Chris as being a self-motivated and self-stylized plot thickener. He congers up simple plots which lay a thick plot foundation but which feel as desperate attempts to shake up the establishment of the wonderfully creative City idea. When the Cities stray planet-ward, the plot tends to become self-centered on Chris and suffers a sense of silliness.

The development of the culture of the free cities is interesting, but there is a fatal logical flaw
The setting is a future where the Earth's resources have been exhausted and the economy has entered into a worldwide and lengthy depression. Fortunately for many of the inhabitants, a device that allows objects of enormous size to engage in interstellar travel faster than light has been invented. That device is known as a spindizzy and some cities have used it to travel to the stars seeking work and planets to colonize. As is always the case, while the majority of the cities engage in honest contractual obligations, others are not so honest.
Chris is a teenager living a hardscrabble existence near the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. When the city announces their intention to use a spindizzy to leave Earth, he decides that he wants to see it take off. However, the mayor of the city needs additional laborers so he sends an impressment gang out to round up some additional bodies. Chris fights as hard as he can, but he is overpowered and his faithful dog killed.
Scranton leaves Earth and eventually encounters the city of New York and Chris is transferred to that city and "adopted" by a family headed by a soldier/policeman. While the city has a mayor, it is actually run by a computer known as "the city fathers" which monitors all conversations. Chris is educated and violates orders to solve a serious problem that comes up between New York and the evil mayor of Scranton.
This story has a lot of interesting plot devices, such as the culture that develops between the cities among the stars. There are rigid rules of contractual behavior with police cities to enforce them. This is intertwined with the separate and distinct internal cultures of each individual city. However, there is one enormous logical flaw. The energy generated by a single spindizzy is so great that it alone would have been enough to solve all of the energy needs of Earth. Energy of that magnitude would have made it possible to grow all necessary food and extract mineral wealth from even the most diffuse of sources. There would have been little work on Earth, not because there was a depression, but because the computers combined with the energy would do most of it.

Good Character Development
Blish continues the excellent writing, jumping ahead some 600 years, to a time when the spin dizzy has been invented and aging defeated.The spin dizzy is an anti-gravity device, allowing ships to transcend the upper limits of light speed and travel virtually energy-free.But the anti-aging drugs are available only to the wealthy, and the spin dizzy has allowed most of Earth's major cities to leave Earth on their own power, traveling to other planets.This latter concept is what drew me to this series, as it was detailed and shown at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.

In this book we follow a boy, conscripted into the city of Pittsburgh, and then his fortunes in the larger floating city of New York.Blish uses the Depression era terms to conceive of cities traveling around like hobos, looking for work, and becoming integrated into a galactic economy.

This continues to be some excellent writing, and greater story development and imagination than you find in most science fiction.In particular the adventures of the boy really create a bond between the character and the reader.Blish has done an incredible job of creating a vivid character that you feel for, and you want to continue to follow his exploits in future novels.Unfortunately, in this last regard, the reader is sorely disappointed in the third installment.

The first of the "Cities in Flight" novels
A life for the stars is the first of the "Cities in Flight" novels

All four novels are available on Amazon as "Cities In Flight"
by James Blish, Betty Ballantine, Richard D. Mullen
Publisher: Overlook Press (January 17, 2005) ISBN: 1585676020

The triumph of time by James Blish
The fourth of the "Cities in Flight" novels depicting entires cities taking to outer space in the year 2018. In this novel, mankind finds out that two universes were doomed to inevitable, catastrophic collision in 3 years time. (Novels include: A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; and The Triumph of Time and are published together as: "Year 2018!; A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; and The Triumph of Time")

In three years' time the two universes were doomed to inevitable, catastrophic collision! When the scientists of the wandering planet, journeying through inter-galactic space, heard the sound of hydrogen atoms coming into existence out of nothing, they realized that they had accidentally discovered the birthplace of continuous creat ion. They had lifted the curtain & caught an instant's glimpse of the unknowable. But to have looked it full in the face could have been no more fatal.for later, much later, they were to learn that t hey had also uncovered mankind's Day of Judgment!

The first of the "Cities in Flight" novels
The triumph of time by James Blish

All four novels are available on Amazon as "Cities In Flight"
by James Blish, Betty Ballantine, Richard D. Mullen
Publisher: Overlook Press (January 17, 2005) ISBN: 1585676020

The fourth of the "Cities in Flight" novels depicting entires cities taking to outer space in the year 2018. In this novel, mankind finds out that two universes were doomed to inevitable, catastrophic collision in 3 years time. (Novels include: A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; and The Triumph of Time and are published together as: "Year 2018!; A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; and The Triumph of Time")

In three years' time the two universes were doomed to inevitable, catastrophic collision! When the scientists of the wandering planet, journeying through inter-galactic space, heard the sound of hydrogen atoms coming into existence out of nothing, they realized that they had accidentally discovered the birthplace of continuous creat ion. They had lifted the curtain & caught an instant's glimpse of the unknowable. But to have looked it full in the face could have been no more fatal.for later, much later, they were to learn that t hey had also uncovered mankind's Day of Judgment! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Blish does the best possible job in making weak episodes better
James Blish was a very talented science fiction writer, his adaptations of the original Star Trek episodes not only made some of the weak ones sound interesting, but he also nurtured the phenomenon. When the original series was cancelled, there was little reason to believe that there would be anything new in that genre. Blish's work kept the thoughts of Star Trek alive until the syndication of the episodes generated such enormous excitement.
The episodes adapted in this book are:

*) Whom Gods Destroy
*) The Tholian Web
*) Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
*) This Side of Paradise
*) Turnabout Intruder
*) Requiem for Methuselah
*) The Way to Eden

Other than "This Side of Paradise", none of these episodes places very high on my ranking of the episodes of the original series. While Blish does a great job in transferring the story to print, he simply cannot capture the good moments of these weak episodes. For example, I consider the high point of "Turnabout Intruder" to be the scene where Kirk/Lester is filing his nails. Shatner demonstrated that he is indeed a quality character actor in that scene, appearing so feminine in the proper way.
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "The Way to Eden" are episodes where a good idea of social commentary is played out so awkwardly that the message is overwhelmed by the basic absurdity of the action. "Whom Gods Destroy" is just plain pointless, the inmates taking over the asylum in this manner makes it one of the few episodes that I have a hard time watching. Blish tries, but it is hard to make such bad original material energetic and exciting.

Blish does the best possible job in making weak episodes better
James Blish was a very talented science fiction writer, his adaptations of the original Star Trek episodes not only made some of the weak ones sound interesting, but he also nurtured the phenomenon. When the original series was cancelled, there was little reason to believe that there would be anything new in that genre. Blish's work kept the thoughts of Star Trek alive until the syndication of the episodes generated such enormous excitement.
The episodes adapted in this book are:

*) Whom Gods Destroy
*) The Tholian Web
*) Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
*) This Side of Paradise
*) Turnabout Intruder
*) Requiem for Methuselah
*) The Way to Eden

Other than "This Side of Paradise", none of these episodes places very high on my ranking of the episodes of the original series. While Blish does a great job in transferring the story to print, he simply cannot capture the good moments of these weak episodes. For example, I consider the high point of "Turnabout Intruder" to be the scene where Kirk/Lester is filing his nails. Shatner demonstrated that he is indeed a quality character actor in that scene, appearing so feminine in the proper way.
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "The Way to Eden" are episodes where a good idea of social commentary is played out so awkwardly that the message is overwhelmed by the basic absurdity of the action. "Whom Gods Destroy" is just plain pointless, the inmates taking over the asylum in this manner makes it one of the few episodes that I have a hard time watching. Blish tries, but it is hard to make such bad original material energetic and exciting.

Blish captures the spirit of Star Trek and the message of each episode.
Blish is to be commended as being one of the people that kept the Star Trek fires burning after the original series was cancelled. He wrote a series of adaptations of the episodes of the original series that were collected into several books. He also did not exactly follow either the dialog or plot lines of the series, something which may offend purists of the genre. However, since one intended consequence of the books was to introduce Star Trek to new people, that criticism is not necessarily well founded.
This book contains adaptations of the following episodes:

*) All our yesterdays
*) The devil in the dark
*) Journey to Babel
*) The menagerie
*) The Enterprise incident
*) A piece of the action

In just a few pages, Blish manages to capture the spirit of Star Trek and the message of the episode. That can be a difficult thing to do in print, as so much of the magic of Star Trek was visual. In my recent rereading of this book, I was once again pleased with the stories, even though I am an original Trekkie and can repeat the dialog of nearly every episode word for word.

Adaptations of 7 episodes, most from season 3
First published in 1972, these short stories are Blish's adaptations of the screenplays of various episodes from the original series. The episodes aren't sorted into books according to either chronological order or identity of screenwriter.

"Whom Gods Destroy" (episode 71, season 3, screenplay Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl) (The remainder of the title quote is 'they first drive mad'; the setting is Elba II, a planet with a poisonous atmosphere used to isolate the criminally insane in an escape-proof setting.) I tend to bracket this with "Dagger of the Mind" from season 1. ENTERPRISE has come to Elba II because the newest inmate, Garth of Izar, was a respected starship captain until he was driven mad by injuries sustained in the line of duty. The problem is, the inmates have taken over the asylum, and Garth is a formidable opponent, insane or no.

"The Tholian Web" (episode 64, season 3, screenplay Judy Burns and Chet Richards) Sent by Starfleet to locate the lost DEFIANT, the ENTERPRISE finds it drifting near a 'fracture' in space that affects the minds of any near it, apparently the cause of the death of DEFIANT's crew. Kirk, separated from the rest of the away team, appears to have been lost - and when a Tholian vessel appears and demands that ENTERPRISE leave the area, Spock and McCoy must open Kirk's final sealed orders and presume his death.

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (episode 70, season 3, screenplay Oliver Crawford from a story by Gene L. Coon (as Lee Cronin)) Two aliens from the hitherto unknown planet Cheron board the ENTERPRISE - Lokai, a member of an oppressed minority on that planet, and Bele, the law enforcement officer who has been pursuing him for 50000 years on charges of terrorism. (Interesting if unsubtle point: the two races look exactly the same, half black/half white, except that one is white/black and the other black/white; only the placement of the colours distinguishes them.) As Lokai demands asylum and Bele extradition, Kirk defers the issue to Starfleet Command - and in frustration, Bele uses his ESP to seize control of the ship and force a return to Cheron.

"This Side of Paradise" (episode 25, season 1, screenplay Nathan Butler and Dorothy C. Fontana). The first of several episodes over the years to explore the notion of a 'paradise' planet: in this case, Omicron Ceti III, where the colonists have survived lethal doses of radiation only through accidental exposure to plant spores that act as natural tranquilizers. The colonists are happy - but insist on exposing the ENTERPRISE crew to the effect. (This story works best if you've previously read/seen "The Enemy Within" - certain aspects of Kirk's character showcased in that episode are critical to coping with the lotus-eater syndrome herein.)

"Turnabout Intruder" (last episode of season 3, screenplay Gene Roddenberry and Arthur H. Singer) Janice Lester, an old acquaintance of Kirk's embittered since he attained command when she did not, uses an alien device to force an exchange of bodies with him. Blish's adaptation, like the original episode, concentrates more on Lister in Kirk's body than the real Kirk, confined to the brig for trying to incite mutiny. Lester, however, isn't good at passing herself off as the real Kirk, and overlooked some crucial details about the intended purpose of the device.

"Requiem for Methuselah" (episode 76, season 3, screenplay Jerome Bixby) Flint, a very wealthy recluse living alone with an unusually beautiful and self-possessed young woman in palatial surroundings, permits the ENTERPRISE to collect some vital minerals needed to treat an outbreak of Rigellian fever among the crew. But as delays interfere with McCoy's treatment, Spock and Kirk have time to notice just how unusual Flint's palace - and his ward Rayna - really are. [This episode was later used by another author, along with "Miri", to create CRY OF THE ONLIES, which tied up some loose ends.]

"The Way to Eden" (episode 75, season 3, screenplay Arthur Heinemann and Michael Richards) A back-to-nature cult (resembling contemporary hippies) has stolen a starship (bad) and are headed for the Romulan Neutral Zone (worse) in the belief that Eden is a planet to be found in that area. ENTERPRISE must prevent them from causing an international incident. On the other hand, their leader has a reputation as a brilliant scientist, and one of the youngsters is the son of an ambassador figuring prominently in very delicate negotiations... ... Read more