The Autobiography of Mr. Spock, “edited” by Una McCormack, is presented as being Spock’s own words, addressed to his good friend Jean-Luc. It covers his life from his childhood on Vulcan until just before he departs to save Romulus from a supernova. We travel with Spock to Starfleet Academy, to the Enterprise, and into his retirement from Starfleet.
Each section is centered on someone that Spock loved, from Amanda Grayson to Saavik to Michael Burnham. The book takes on the task of weaving together tales from TOS, TNG, Discovery, and the 2009 reboot into one coherent narrative, and in this it succeeds.
However, I was eagerly awaiting the section on Kirk. But when it finally came at the end…it was only a few pages. For a book that is structured around the most significant people in Spock’s life, I found this to be an interesting choice.
The book includes several photoshopped illustrations, and a few of McCoy’s recipes at the end (bean stew and mint julep, if you’re curious).
I found it to be an easy read, and it gave extra insight into well-known incidents in Spock’s life such as his mind meld with Valeris, which has always troubled me. It especially shines in the parts about Amanda and Sarek and Michael. But the lack of detail about his greatest friendship – the greatest friendship in Star Trek – is what struck me the most.
The Autobiography of Mr. Spock was published by Titan Books on September 14, 2021 with an MSRP of $24.99 US for the hardback edition or $9.99 US for the ebook. It is available online, or at your local retailer.
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