Book #118: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier by J.M. Dillard.
J.M. Dillard
Released: June 1st, 1989
My 48th book for 2025 was J.M. Dillard’s "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier".
After deviating from the beaten path for one novel, we’re back on track with the next movie novelization. We go from learning all about the mysterious Probe to…the rougher edges of The Final Frontier. This is often cited as one of the weaker films, but Paramount also slashed the budget. The story isn’t too terrible, but also not some great epic either.
In the neglected planet of galactic peace, Nimbus III, an exiled Vulcan recruits homesteaders for a take over of the capital city. During this takeover, the Romulan, Klingon, and Federation ambassadors are held hostage. While on shore leave in Yosemite, the crew of the new Enterprise-A is recalled to duty to resolve the crisis on Nimbus III. The ship is in utter disarray, and the transporters are not working, but the order is forced. Upon arriving at Nimbus III, Captain Kirk and company devise a rescue plan for the hostages. Once inside the city, they are instead taken captive by the renegade Vulcan Sybok. Sybok steals the Enterprise-A, and plots on a course beyond the Great Barrier to the fabled world of Sha Ka Ree. This is an Eden-like planet, rumored in legend to be the start of the universe. The Great Barrier is a series of rings with highly unstable radiation, that no ship has ever safely crossed before. Once passed the barrier, the Enterprise meets a spirit-like being impersonating God. After some back and forth questions regarding the entity’s motives, the spirit becomes angry and attacks Kirk and Spock. Sybok sacrifices himself as the crew escapes. McCoy and Spock beam up while a Klingon ship arrives, threatening Kirk’s life before some unlikely help saves the day.
As stated before, this is generally considered one of the weaker films. William Shatner helmed this one, and Paramount gave him a budget that was a skeleton of The Voyage Home. In novelized form, the story plays out a lot better. Things are a bit crisper, Sybok’s intentions are more clear, and you sympathize with him at the end.
It’s interesting to see that Spock has a half-brother. I always like the joke that, “He just happens to have a brother who was never once mentioned in 80 episodes and 4 prior movies.” It is interesting to see Sybok’s appeal to emotion vs Spock’s more Vulcan-traditional appeal to logic.
The Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic is very strong in this one. We see them come together stronger than ever before. Between the shore leave campout at Yosemite, to escaping Sybok’s detention, to battling the entity on Sha Ka Ree. Their union is strong. Kirk sums it up best when he explains that he always knew he would die alone, and with Spock and McCoy by his side, the threat was never truly there. We also see the three things that haunt these men the most in some deeply emotional scenes.
I know some of the scenes in this film are pretty silly. The book plays them faithfully, but I can still see them playing out in my mind. Scotty knocking himself out, Uhura’s seductive dance, and the Enterprise falling apart are examples of this. Another glaring one is the fabled planet Sha Ka Ree. If that sounds familiar, it’s because originally, filmmakers wanted to cast legendary actor Sean Connery in the role of Sybok. When that fell through they named the planet after him, and recast the role to Lawrence Luckinbill.
Not too bad, def some deep thinking involved here.
Here is what I learned:
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- For George, Dave Stern, Kathy, and especially Irwin and Geraldine.
- Special thanks are due Dr. Carol Williams, an astronomer at the University of South Florida, and George at Simply Computers in Tampa.
- T’Rea and her son sleep on a hard floor.
- T’Rea is suspicious of T’Sai replacing her.
- T’Sai announces herself as the High Master of the kolinahru.
- Gol is a desert mountain retreat planet.
- Sybok is his mother’s only child.
- Sybok is a Vulcan.
- Sybok means “seer” and “prophet”.
- Shiav means “messiah”.
- Sha Ka Ree is the source of all creation. The paradise where all gods and goddesses of Vulcan and alien pantheons merge into the One.
- T’Rea and Sybil both believe in Sha Ka Ree.
- J’Onn farms for moisture in the desert of Nimbus III.
- Zaara passed away the night before.
- The desert used to be beautiful, but the Great Draught brought its current form.
- J’Onn and Zaara were from Regulus in the Romulan Empire.
- J’Onn embezzled money from his employer and was exiled to Nimbus III.
- Nimbus III is a once fertile planet near the Neutral Zone.
- Nimbus III is known as the “Planet of Galactic Peace”.
- J’Onn carries a handmade pipe gun for self-defense.
- Weapons are forbidden on Nimbus III.
- J’Onn had never seen a Vulcan laugh before.
- Captain Kirk opts to climb El Captain in Yosemite National Park, without safety equipment.
- Spock brought levitation boots camping.
- Tobacco is illegal on Nimbus III.
- Caithlan Dar is the Romulan ambassador to Nimbus III.
- Her father, Liam James O’Malley, was human.
- St. John Talbot is a British man serving as the Federation ambassador to Nimbus III.
- He is an alcoholic, and drinks a large amount of Romulan Ale.
- Korrd is the Klingon ambassador.
- “You can see what good laws against weapons did: they made their own.”
- Starfleet has a Priority Seven situation in the Neutral Zone.
- Chekov has blisters on his feet from hiking.
- Commander Sulu voluntarily took a demotion in ranking to serve aboard the new Enterprise-A.
- McCoy likes to drink Bourbon.
- A snort is a drink when it comes to liquor.
- “I knew I wouldn’t die because the two of you were with me. I’ve always known I’ll die alone.”
- Kirk has a nephew.
- McCoy has a daughter and a granddaughter.
- A marsh melon is a marshmallow.
- Talbot once received the Surakian Peace Prize.
- Andor was a capital city that had a large number of affected immigrants.
- An angry mob once took several notable citizens hostage, including the governor’s young son.
- Instead of diffusing the situation, Talbot insulted the kidnappers, who promptly killed the hostages.
- The governor’s son had his neck snapped soundly.
- First Officer Vixis serves on the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Okrona.
- Captain Klaa commands the Okrona.
- Korrd is General Krell’s brother-in-law.
- The Enterprise-A houses the shuttle craft Galileo 5.
- “And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by.”
- Sea Fever is a classic book by John Masefield.
- Bob Caflisch is an Admiral in Starfleet.
- Romulans do not deal with terrorists. They sacrifice their representatives and replace them with new ones.
- Klingons seek revenge on terrorists.
- Kirk prefers the captain’s chair on the original Enterprise.
- Sybok commands the Galactic Army of Light.
- “[Sybok] believed the key to self-knowledge was emotion, not logic.”
- Sybok and Spock have not seen each other in 30 years.
- Sybok is under arrest for 17 counts of Neutral Zone Treaty violations.
- Sulu would shop at Weisel’s Grocery on Gajitsu.
- Sulu’s pain is a pirate attack on his homeworld.
- Sybok is Spock’s half-brother.
- Sybok’s mother is a Vulcan priestess.
- "Spock! My only concern right now is getting my ship back. When that's done and Sybok is in here, the two of you can debate Sha Ka Ree until you're green in the face.”
- Scotty’s pain is losing his nephew Peter.
- Dr. McCoy’s father was David A. McCoy.
- McCoy gave his father a mercy death before realizing the cure had been found for his illness.
- David McCoy had pyrrhoneuritis.
- Spock’s pain is his own birth.
- Kirk’s pain is the loss of his son David.
- “Dammit, Bones, you’re a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can’t be dispelled with the wave of a magic wand. They’re things we carry with us—the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away. I don’t want to forget David and Carol . . . and losing the Enterprise. I need my pain.”
- The Enterprise’s backup shuttle is the Copernicus.
- “What does God need with a starship?”
- “Damn you sir! You will try!”
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Overall, not too bad of a read. The film suffers greatly, but the story feels a bit more fleshed out here. I’d recommend it, but mainly for Trek fans and those who want a deeper story about faith and beliefs.
Recommended, mainly for Trek fans and people who enjoy stories on faith.
On to Book #119: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country by J.M. Dillard.
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Need to catch up? See previous blog post: Star Trek: Probe.
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Want to read about just this series? See the other posts below:
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
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