[Star Trek: The Motion Picture] generally merits praise rather than knocks, and although prose fiction is not Roddenberry's medium, he does a very creditable job with this, his first novel.

The writing is taut, the narrative structure good. And, except for all the hints of other adventures thrown out in the first three chapters (TV series writers can apparently never get the bug out of their systems), the book is unified and well integrated.

The characters are true as only their creator can draw them, and references throughout the book variously incorporate or refute fan speculation about them. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest have come back to the refurbished Enterprise to challenge a mysterious invader hurtling towards the Earth. It is ten years after the events in the television series, and all have changed and yet remain the same?. The book provides insights that the motion picture...