Edited by Una McCormack

Titan Books, out now

The iconic Star Trek character’s life story appears for the first time in his own words.

When compiling a book of Spock’s life, the biggest challenge is surely not so much what to include as what not to include, such is the body of adventures that he has undertaken in the last 55 years, from Star Trek’s pilot through to Discovery. This detailed back story to our favourite Vulcan is credited to Spock of Vulcan and edited by Una McCormack, though I suspect the latter had far more to do here than edit another’s writings.

McCormack wisely does not summarise all the events of Spock’s TV episodes and movies (there’s many online Trek encyclopaedias if you want that), instead finding a structure to explain why he is writing such a book, and what were the critical milestones in his life, death and rebirth that affected him. This structure is three acts, a Vulcan ‘wisdom book’ that guides the reader through the three ages of a Vulcan, addressed to Jean-Luc Picard ahead of a mission that may be Spock’s last.

In the childhood section there’s reflections on his mother Amanda and her relationship with his father Sarek. And because of the new lore built by Discovery, we find our more about his relationship with Michael Burnham. We also dive deeper about his proposed arranged marriage with T’Pring and gain some insight into his half-brother Sybok (The Final Frontier).

The middle section picks up on his dreams of the Red Angel and the years spent with Number One and Pike, culminating in getting the Captain to Talos IV (The Menagerie). Little time is spent on the five year mission, and we pick up on his retreat to P’Tranek monastery, then the reunification of Vulcan and Romulan people, and his death.

The final section addresses the individuals who played significant roles in his life, and I’ll leave you to find out who they were and what they did. And there’s also a recipe for beef stew and a mint julep cocktail.

Verdict: Absolutely not a Spock episode guide, this is an authentic document written in-universe, packed with Vulcan lore and written by someone who really knows their stuff and loves their subject. Thank you, Una. Fascinating. 9/10

Nick Joy

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