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radicalbears · 1 day

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Fun fact: I've started reading Star Trek TOS books this year, and they are a TRIP.

I've read six of them so far: The Vulcan Science Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah, Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane, Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno, Spock's World by Diane Duane, Sarek by A.C. Crispin, and The Motion Picture novelization by Gene Roddenberry (and also Harold Livingston and Alan Dean Foster since they wrote the screenplay)

I have some Thoughts but this may be long so opinions below the cut!

I can't pick an absolute favorite, they're all so much fun for their own reasons. Objectively, Spock's World and Sarek are the two best, with Spock's World being my favorite of the two. I love any story that takes a long look at the Vulcans- either individual characters or them as a group- and these two do a fantastic job.

The Vulcan Science Academy Murders is not objectively good- the mystery is so easily figured out, some of the book is just a little bit insane, and there's way too many exclamation points- but it is a LOT of fun. Also has a very sweet perspective of Vulcans and the way they care for eachother.

Doctor's Orders is literally just this: Kirk, thinking he'd only be gone an hour, makes McCoy acting captain. Kirk proceeds to go missing. Due to Starfleet regulations, McCoy is stuck as acting captain until Kirk or Starfleet relieves him. (It's very funny watching both McCoy and literally every bridge officer be stressed about this)

My least favorite is probably Strangers from the Sky. It's extremely convoluted- there's a plot where Kirk is having nightmares about a suppressed past memory (a memory that, is being remembered because the events of this memory were recently published as a book), and half of this book is us just. Real-time reading this past memory? Either way, the memory is of the Actual first human-Vulcan meeting- when a Vulcan ship crash landed on Earth before the official first contact. The surviving Vulcans were rescued by a couple kelp farmers, and the story surrounding them is actually really sweet. The Enterprise crew has almost nothing to do with this story, they're only there because of a time travel incident. It really just feels more like the author wanted to tell this story, but because it didn't have any known characters in it, they were forced to involve the TOS cast. Still a decent read, just Very convoluted.

Finally, the Motion Picture novelization. Boy, this really reminded me that there really is not much that happens in this movie, though somehow it's more interesting than the movie. This is not to completely dump on said movie- I don't hate it, but it certainly is my least favorite. The novelization is really cool though because it adds a LOT of context for what Spock is dealing with. We get more of his inner monologue- something I actually wish we could witness better in the movie. V'ger is a really good character foil for Spock- the way V'ger is was Spock's end goal, yet Spock realizes that V'ger nothing like how he actually wants to be.

The word T'hyla is also just. Casually invented in this novelization, with the explicit purpose of describing the relationship between Kirk and Spock. This book ALSO acknowledges rumors of Kirk and Spock dating in a footnote, and has Kirk "address" these rumors (aka make some weird statement that doesn't actually clarify anything). Beginning of this book is a Wild time for Spirk fans.

Anyway I'm waiting on my library to get in the novelization for Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock. I also just picked up the first two volumes of the Year Five comics. Idk how deep I'm gonna get into Star Trek novels, but I'm at the very least still going strong.

Oh yeah I also tend to take photos of passages/lines I enjoyed from these books, lmk if any of y'all want a deeper look into any of these books- I can post the photos of my favorite bits!

#anyway more people should read star trek books they're fun #even if they're completely not canon #if you're out here reading fanfic you can deal with that #star trek #star trek tos #star trek books #diane duane

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your-name-is-jim · 3 months

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“I was never aware of this lovers rumor, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance.”

Okay Jim, I got it. You and Spock aren't lovers. Now keep telling us everything about Spock's eyebrow :)

#roddenberry's footnote #star trek novels #star trek tmp #star trek the motion picture novelization #spirk #k/s #kirk x spock #star trek tos #star trek the original series #james t. kirk #spock #space husbands

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thali-lemmonpie · 19 days

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"And on the bridge—Kirk! The mere name made Spock groan inwardly as he remembered what it had cost him to turn away from that welcome. T’hy’la!"

#my art #star trek #s'chn t'gai spock #spirk #space husbands #james t. kirk #st #k/s #tos #star trek the motion picture #the novel is so good i swear that quote is from it #i still have left like 3 screenshots that i want to make

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electronickingdomfox · 10 months

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A lot has been said about this passage in the TMP novel, and the meaning of t'hy'la, and the subtext (and text) and all that. This is just a reminder that, of all the excerpts from the novel, this one precisely was chosen as introduction. They could have taken any other passage, something that was intriging without being spoilery, or a generic "This is the latest voyage of the starship Enterprise, in search of..." (you get the idea).

But no. Gene decided to use the "t'hy'la" passage, the one moment where Spock says goodbye to his emotions, represented by his pained goodbye to Jim. And even without knowing at this point that "lover" is a possible meaning of t'hy'la, it's still an incredibly romantic passage.

And THIS is the introduction to the novel. As if there was still any doubt that the real core of the movie isn't V'ger, but the underlying love story of Kirk and Spock, and their "simple feeling".

#star trek tos #star trek the motion picture #star trek tmp novel #gene roddenberry #k/s #james kirk #spock #t'hy'la

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1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt · 2 years

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Spock Canonically Trying and Failing to Stop Thinking About Jim Kirk: A Series (brought to you by Gene Roddenberry)

Spock *Dramatically*: Jim! Goodbye my . . . my t'hy'la. This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again.*Arm flung over eyes for brooding effect*

A FEW PAGES LATER

Spock: *Thinking* But what was it that Jim Kirk had once said?

Vulcan elder: Yo SPOCK. Stop thinking about your human boyfriend. We've been over this. Stop making us call you out like this.

Spock: Oops👀Right right right shit, don't think about Jim - yup, supposed to be completing Kolinahr -

LATER THAT NOVEL

Vulcan elders: . . . Dude. Seriously? Your human boyfriend is still living in there, rent free. Like he is all up in your headspace, you dudes are legit mind bonded. Congratulations. You own a human.

Spock: Shit shit shit. OK I swear this is the last time. No take backs.

Vulcan elders: Get on up out of here. Get gone. Damn. Human lovin' ass lineage, the works of them; merciful Surak this family . . .

Later in the novel, on the Enterprise:

So apparently Spock knows this part of the ship as the place officers go when they are dtf and it's this unsaid respected thing that happens on the Enterprise. Canonically.

And it's Spock's favourite part of the ship. Y'know. For "many pleasures".

And then whaddya know, he immediately starts thinking about:

James T Kirk. And whoops, he also dropped a T'hy'la with that. I mean, hol' up:

"The other physiological changes which beset him on entering the bridge were so shocking that they made him scorn himself (👀). . . on the bridge -- Kirk! The mere name made Spock groan inwardly as he remembered what it had cost him to turn away from that welcome. T'hy'la!"🤯☠

My brother in Christ are you kidding me?

Am I expected to brush this off as "just bro things"?

Is this how other people are out here thinking about their best friends? Did I miss the memo?

Because I do not. Inwardly groan while thinking of my bestie as a friend-brother-lover in the make out spot on the Enterprise as people have sex in the background (canonically).

Just as an FYI.

And I need a break to take my inhaler bc I'm wheezing and laughing-

Ok we're back. Ahem.

Spock's favourite part of the ship is also the place people come to get it on. And he immediately starts thinking about Jim Kirk again while he's there, listening to people have sex.

I'm-

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

LATER THAT NOVEL

Now Kirk and Spock are all unabashed about it.

It's out there, cut it, it's done, pack it up we are done pretending, we are married, we are in love here people, deal with it.

Spock's absolutely feeling himself like:

Fuck yeah, I'm thinking about Jim Kirk. And what? Love is the best thing in the whole damn galaxy and I'm done being mad about it.

Jim: "Let the church say amen."

(I can't believe the man Gene Roddenberry wrote this. Right in front of our faces. Like this book exists? It's canon? How is there even any room for debate anymore? Spock is obsessed with Jim Kirk and vice versa. It is written. WE HAVE RECEIPTS.)

Source: Star Trek The Motion Picture Novel, Gene Roddenberry, Dec. 1979

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tricorderreading · 29 days

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#9: Triangle

idk i just think it's fun when the books make references to canon material

This book came out in 1983, four years after TMP!

#star trek #tos #books #the original series #spock #kirk #star trek tos #spirk #they do more of this later in the book #the motion picture #tmp #novels #movies #tmp's my favorite so references make me happy #spock even uses their special magic word too #th'lya time

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misswitch19 · 3 months

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Just discovered that my copy of the star trek first movie novelization is a first edition. I only noticed because its first owner had inscribed "K.B. 12/3/79" inside the front cover. Thank you, K.B., for letting me watch over our book. Wherever you are in the universe, may you live long and prosper.

#star trek #star trek tos #star trek novels #star trek the motion picture #star trek movies #star trek the original series

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brookbee · 2 years

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Ok I have possibly the most pointless nerd Star Trek tangent because of this one throwaway joke-y sentence from TMP novelization.

So like, the joke here is that sulu says fuck, or shit or whatever right?

But it also implies that current modern day English (or English of 1979) isn’t Federation Standard. That in fact there is such a difference between our English, and English of the 23rd century, that they call our English “old English.”

And like they’re not referring to it as Old English proper (which we probably wouldn’t understand if we heard it today because it’s so different, like try to read an Old English manuscript, it’s an experience), but it is making a designation between what they know as English and what we know as English.

Which means that there was such a dramatic change in language over a period of about two and a half centuries, comparable to the time of the transition of Middle English (think Canterbury Tales) and Early Modern English (think Shakespeare). And like this dramatic change does make sense, humans have been in contact with other alien species for a couple centuries, they have new access to learning and exploring, like that makes sense. Language often changes when there’s contact with different people and new sources of learning.

But I just want to know what it would sound like. How is Standard different? Because I feel like this sentence would imply that it goes beyond having some new borrowed words. Has the way that they pronounced words changed dramatically? Also this implies that there are new swear words that aren’t as good as shit or fuck??

Like I know that there’s really no point focusing on this, it’s just a fun way to say that “Sulu said ‘shit’” but my language nerd brain hasn’t stopped thinking about this for like a week.

#or perhaps they just refer to everything pre-first contact as old??#the thought experiment is pretty fun though of imagining how it’d change #my two loves are Star Trek and Shakespeare y’all shouldn’t be surprised I hyperfixated on THIS #LAST TMP NOVEL POST I SWEAR #tmp quotes #star trek novels #star trek the motion picture #Star Trek tos #st tos #trekposting

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andy-888 · 10 months

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Today I finally watched The Motion Picture and the way I GASPED with these environments I just had to keep them and share them. I miss these hand painted backgrounds in movies so much... they almost look like panels from a comic. They are simply beautiful.

Needless to say they are now my wallpaper in every device I own

#star trek the motion picture #star trek tmp #star trek tos #star trek #i just want to show them to everyone #i always loved what is now retro sci-fi artstyle #the wrath of khan is next once i finish the novel

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mcspirkmindmeld · 6 months

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So much acceptance and understanding in just one sentence he makes me insane

#star trek books #star trek: the motion picture novel #z.reads #z.speaking

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your-name-is-jim · 1 year

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Movie + Novel

Bonus:

#spirk #star trek the motion picture #gene roddenberry #star trek novels #star trek the original series #k/s #kirk x spock #james t. kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #star trek the motion picture novelization #star trek tos #it's hard to be Bones #my gifs

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lt-cmdr-titties · 2 years

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lee correy - the abode of life - p 142

p 143

i'm fucking vibrating rn i can't deal with these two

#star trek tos #james t kirk #spirk #spock cha'sarek #star trek novels #t'hy'la #kolinahr #star trek the motion picture #lee correy #the abode of life

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treklongisland · 8 months

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Im so excited! Last year a promised myself i would control how many guests I invite in 2024. Unfortunately i have no willpower!Many more guests to be announced soon!

Treklongisland.com

#star trek #star trek the motion picture #star talk #lower decks #montgomery scott #snw #star trek novels #star trek discovery #llap

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1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt · 2 years

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Back at it again at the Krispy Kreme The Motion Picture Novel. AKA The Slash Bible.

The first (canonical) mention of Spock being mind bonded to Kirk occurs when Spock is getting called out by the Vulcan Elders during Kolinahr.

Elder T'sai mind melds with Spock to begin the ceremony, but she uncovers Jim's thoughts running through Spock's mind in the process. She can hear Jim's thoughts on Vulcan from Earth through their bond.

Hence the discovery that Spock has a canonical mind bond with James T Kirk:

Later on the Enterprise, Spock finds himself having to confess the mind bond when confronted by Jim.

It makes sense why earlier in the passage, Spock makes a terse comment about McCoy being there and wishing to have some privacy alone with Jim. (Oh my God).

Spock relents, talking in private with Jim and Bones. Jim won't leave him alone and is adamant for answers, so Spock is internally going "FUCK! I can't lie to him. Here goes it, then".

He ends up having to come clean and reveal to Jim (in front of Bones) that they are indeed Vulcan mind bonded.

The gag of the century.

Bonus: Them revealing to each other (and Bones) that they were nonstop thinking about each other and Jim is all "Yeah, so I guess I sort of got used to not having to function without you and got to needing you. Whoops LOL my bad":

Double Bonus: McCoy serving "how dare you come crawling back here after devastating our boay, he's desperate for God's sake just look at him" sassy Southern Doctor and 100% threw Spock under the bus for failing Kolinahr because of Jim Kirk.

Spock: We're mind bonded fyi, totes casual just thought you should know, not like it only happens to soulmates or anything, no big deal just keep it chill OMG Stay OUT of my PERSONAL LIFE, CAPTAIN.

McCoy: Why couldn't Spock respond to him? Kirk could hardly risk begging . . .*McCoy, salty on behalf of Jim* "Emotion, Spock? . . . Is it possible you failed?"

(Goddamn Leonard Horatio McCoy you didn't have to smoke our guy so hard)

McCoy really snapped off and called Spock out on his feelings when talking to Jim like, "this is what you get for hurting our boay. Don't let me catch you slippin' again."

Heard your Jim Kirk boner got you kicked out of the Kolinahr there, brother. Don't get to acting big like it didn't. McCoy absolutely slaps Spock down a peg for Jim and I live.

In conclusion: James T. Kirk and Spock are canonically mind bonded and came out in front of Bones, who was a sassy bitch about the whole affair as usual.

Source: Star Trek The Motion Picture Novel by Gene Roddenberry.

(AKA the Sacred Text AKA Receipts AKA The Slash Bible AKA no really, Gene Roddenberry just BOOM invented slash because he felt like it and dumped it on us all like that in one gigantic mic drop.)

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tricorderreading · 5 months

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The very first paragraph of the movie novelization is kirk explaining where his name originates

(what the fuck is a love instructor???)

#i love how this means either his mom was fucking his uncle before she became involved with his dad #or she was having sex with some random guy who circumstancially had the same name as the nroyher of the guy she wventually marries #wild way to start a book roddenberry i must say #star trek #books #tos #the original series #kirk #star trek tos #the motion picture #movie novelization #if anyone wants to see the full preface lmk and ill share that

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holishkes · 2 years

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#star trek comics #star trek: the motion picture #I actually thought I was buying the TMP novel but got sent this 1979 comic book instead #anyway I’m sorry but this was just in there #Star Trek #kirk/mccoy #kirk/bones #mckirk #<b>friends</b>#beta canon #trek scans #kirk #bones

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