''Planet of Judgment'' (1977) is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by American writer

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...

, a tie-in of the TV series ''Star Trek''.

Plot summary

The crew of the

Starship Enterprise ''Enterprise'' or USS ''Enterprise'', often referred to as the Starship ''Enterprise'', is the name of Spacecraft in Star Trek, several spacecraft in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise. The ''USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Enterprise'' ma ...

detects a

rogue planet A rogue planet, also termed a free-floating planet (FFP) or an isolated planetary-mass object (iPMO), is an interstellar object of planetary mass which is not gravitationally bound to any star or brown dwarf. Rogue planets may originate from ...

(dubbed ''Anomaly'') orbited by a miniature

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

. This seems to contravene all scientific laws. Assuming that the system is artificial,

Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, often known as Captain Kirk, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterp ...

leads a landing party to the planet's surface, where they become trapped. The crew find themselves at the center of a galactic conflict, in which an alien race is threatening to invade Federation space.

Dr. McCoy Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as "Bones", is a character in the American science-fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley in the original ''Star Trek'' series from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the anima ...

Mr. Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's second-in-command) a ...

, and Captain Kirk must participate in a series of trials that will determine not just their survival, but that of the

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Production

According to the author, he was approached for a two-book contract at the suggestion of

Fred Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellit ...

References

External links

* 1977 American novels 1977 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Bantam Books books Novels based on Star Trek: The Original Series {{1970s-StarTrek-novel-stub