The Star Trek Reader cover

The Star Trek Reader

by James Blish

James Blish was a science fiction writer who wrote over 27 novels, most notably the Cities in Flight series, and A Case of Conscience, for which he won a Hugo Award. He also was a highly respected critic, and his criticism in collected in the books The Issue at Hand, and More Issues at Hand, (published under the pen name of William Atheling, Jr.). Using the original scripts, which sometimes differed from the final filmed episode, Blish turned each episode of the original Star Trek into a short story, which were collected into anthologies and published as paperback originals. The Star Trek Reader collects three of these anthologies: Star Trek 2, Star Trek 3, and Star Trek 8. The episodes present include The City on the Edge of Forever; Arena; A Taste of Armageddon; Tomorrow Is Yesterday; Errand of Mercy; Court-Martial; Operation--Annihilate!; Space Seed; The Trouble With Tribbles; The Last Gunfight; The Doomsday Machine; Assignment: Earth; Mirror, Mirror; Friday's Child; Amok Time; Spock's Brain; The Enemy Within; Catspaw; Where No Man Has Gone Before; Wolf in the Fold; and For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?