Star Trek: The Last Roundup (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Rating:
Summary: Saddle Up
Review: Best known to trek fans for her highly praised Voyager novels, Golden has done an outstanding job capturing the spirit and characters of TOS in this delightfully alluring adventure. Golden is a true fan and her appreciation for the characters and their place in the Star Trek mythos shines through every time she writes.

Following the events of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" the crew of the former USS Enterprise have moved on with their lives. Scattered across two quadrants pursuing their individual assignments some are more content than others. Feeling restless and more than a bit bored with his teaching assignment at Starfleet Academy, James T. Kirk decides to join two of his nephews in the effort to found a new colony on a planet they have named Sanctuary.

The colonists soon realize that they are little more than pawns in an intricate plot to exact revenge on a new Federation member world. A plot that could bring the Federation and their allies to their knees. While Kirk, Scotty and Chekov race against time to foil those who would destroy all the Federation has accomplished, they find themselves getting unexpected help from both old comrades and new friends.

If you're looking for a diverting, fervent, and enterprising Star Trek adventure you need look no farther than "The Last Roundup". It's the perfect title for anyone who wants to unwind with a classic trek escapade.

Rating:
Summary: Good Final Bridge to Generations
Review: I own this book. It was good but the trio of Spock, McCoy, and Kirk doing their things together as only they can do is lacking, and thats a bummer. The idea of the book was good though I think that the ending was somewhat of a let down. It was a little too easy to stop the destruction of warp drive engines. All in all it was enjoyable read, and if you're interested in Star Trek novels of the orignal series, this is a very good one to get the closure from the series that started it all.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I really enjoyed The Last Roundup. It had all the main characters return for a last bow. This story takes place shortly after the movie "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Kirk's 2 nephews and a lot of scientist are getting ready to go to a planet called Sanctuary and setup a peaceful colony and Kirk finally is convinced to go along. Of course he invited Scotty and Chekov (both of whom are not busy). Needless to say; he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous crisis affecting Star Fleet and millions of lives. Spock, McCoy and Uhura also come in to help.

Overall a very good story and I would reccommend it to all Star Trek fams. They retried an old and novel concept with this book - they finished a story with a single book - we did not have to wait monthes to get 3 or 6 books to finish a story. I think that alone deserves an extra star and hopefully this will become a trend again.

Rating:
Summary: A good story, well-written.
Review: Set in the aftermath of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", this is an adventure that deals with the crew of the Enterprise as aging, post-Enterprise members of Starfleet, mostly going their own separate ways. If that, and a lot of complaints about aging, aren't your cup of tea, then there is a definite downside to this book. But it IS handled well, so you may find it to be more interesting than you would think even if the idea DOES sound dull.

Furthermore, this is one of those "Kirk & co. save the Federation and civilization as we know it" storylines, but it's handled better than I've ever seen the idea handled before. Most of the threats of that magnitude seem contrived, and the idea that our heroes can stem the tide even more so. But in this story, the threat seemed VERY plausible, and given the nature of it, the solution seemed equally plausible.

One of the best original series "Trek" books I've read in quite a while.

Rating:
Summary: Bland Trek fiction
Review: The latest Star Trek hardcover novel, "The Last Round-Up" promises to be the "final" adventure of the origianl series crew. However, instead of sending the crew riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory, we instead get them slumping to the finish line in a novel that is rather derivative of a lot of things you've read before in Trek fiction.

The story starts out with Captain Kirk, teaching classes at the Acadamy, but not fully satisfied with his life now that he's not commanding a starship (shades of Star Trek II). He is approached by his two nephews about going out to help them start a colony, based upon peaceful principles and doing pure scientific research. Figuring he could use the adventure and to get away from a student who is annoying him (a character created specifically for this book called Skalli, who gets real old, realy fast), Kirk agrees. But it turns out the planet his nephews and company are colonizing isn't all it was advertised to be (imagine that) and before you know it Kirk is up to his neck in a plot that threatens the entire future and stability of the Federation.

Christie Golden's first attempt at writing a classic Star Trek novel comes off as a rather pedestrian affair. It's got the feeling of the been-there, done-that throughout. In a lot of ways, the idea of Kirk heading out to set-up a colony echoes the six-part summer series New Earth from two summers ago. There are some twists and turns, but they are fairly obvious what they will be long before they are revealed in the book.

But for all it's disappointing aspects, the Last Round-Up has a few things to recommend. Golden does a decent job capturing the character of Kirk and she does have an intriguing idea of the Klingons owing him a favor and wanting to repay it after the events of Star Trek VI. However, these two things don't add up to enough to really make this one worth the hardcover price. The Last Round-Up is a fairly quick and then largely forgettable read. If you're really interested, I'd recommend waiting for paperback on this one.

Rating:
Summary: "Last Roundup" Delivers
Review: This is the best of the post "Star Trek VI" books and promises one last great adventure for Captain Kirk and his crew. This book delivers and we find Kirk, Checkov and Scotty as the main characters in a story involving Kirk's nephews and a far flung world they wish to colonise. We see the early efforts that would lead to the Federation/Klingon alliance. Even Captain Sulu and the Excelsior make an appearance in time for a confrontation that reveals betrayal and old enemies alike. Without giving too much away this novel is truly a worthy epilogue to the classic era of films. And it is with great pride that I recommend it to you all.