The Trekker’s Guide To The Kirk Years Review
3 min read
J.W. Braun, author of Middle-Earth Madness and Lord of the Films has written a guide to the original series shows and movies, and The Animated Series.
The Trekker’s Guide To The Kirk Years, is a handy guide to the episodes, which also provides information on the changes made in the remastered versions of the live-action episodes.
The Book:
The author begins by introducing the book and giving a brief bio before explaining the grading scale and terminology and abbreviations.
Before each season, a list of episodes is given in production order, with air date listed in parentheses after each episode name. The cast for the season is given, along with notable guest stars.
Each episode section begins with the name of the episode, and Braun’s grade, followed by a picture taken from that episode. Next comes the air date, name(s) of the writer(s), and director name. A quote from the episode comes next, followed by the review.
After the review, there are notes and a grade for any remastering done, followed by a Star Trek fact.
Each season is followed by an overall review of the season and there are extra articles, covering topics such as meeting various stars for the first time.
Shows from later Trek series that derived from the original series – such as Space Seed/Wrath of Khan, or The Trouble With Tribbles/Trials and Tribble-ations – are also covered, as are appearances by original series actors in other Trek series or movies.
Braun also covered some fan film productions, specifically Star Trek Continues, with the first six of their productions being reviewed.
After all of the reviews, a preview of Braun’s next Trek book, The Trekker’s Guide To The Picard Years, due out in 2018, is provided.
The Review:
This is a handy book, although the ratings are sure to create controversy as everyone has their likes and dislikes when it comes to the episodes.
Ideal for beginning fans, perhaps drawn in from the three latest Star Trek films, the books are useful for established fans, especially those like this reviewer who are just now watching the remastered original series and who find the comments on what was changed per episode to be extremely useful.
The book is an easy and quick read and something that can be consulted frequently when doing a rewatch of the show or of The Animated Series.
The only oddity was the reviews of the Star Trek Continues fan films. It’s obvious that the author is a fan of the series, but there seems to be no logical reason to include it in this type of book, particularly while excluding other productions. Even so, it’s not a big deal, just a bit puzzling.
Reasonably-priced, The Trekker’s Guide To The Kirk Years is something that will find its place in an original series fan’s library. The reviewer looks forward to the next book in the series on The Next Generation.
The Details:
Author: J.W. Braun
Pages: 358 pgs
Format: Paperback
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN-10: 1537083384
ISBN-13: 978-1537083384
Get the book here.
About The Author
