Spock Must Die!

Spock Must Die!
Cover of first printing of Spock Must Die! (February 1970)
First printing (February 1970)
AuthorJames Blish
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherBantam Books H5515
Publication date
February 1970
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages119
OCLC847541600
Followed bySpock, Messiah! 
First edition/printing was not assigned an ISBN. Bantam Books catalog number: H5515.

Spock Must Die! is an American science fiction novel written by James Blish, published February 1970 by Bantam Books. It was the first original novel based on the Star Trek television series intended for adult readers. It was preceded by a tie-in comic book line published by Gold Key and the novel Mission to Horatius by Mack Reynolds, all intended for younger readers.[1][2]: xi 

Blish aimed to kill off a popular character as a way to surprise readers, and during the novel's production chose Spock, with the aid of his wife, J.A. Lawrence.

Reviews of the novel have been mixed. Some reviewers have directed criticism at the structure or tone of the novel, while others have expressed no enthusiasm for the work, overall.[3]

Spock Must Die! was reprinted numerous times with different cover art, including a cover by Kazuhiko Sano.[4] The novel was collected in an omnibus for the Science Fiction Book Club in 1978.

Prior to the release of Spock Must Die!, Blish had written three collections of short stories adapting episodes of the television series. The second collection, Star Trek 2 (February 1968),[5] included an adaptation of the episode "Errand of Mercy", which the novel directly references in the second chapter.[6]: 8 

  1. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (20 February 2013). "One Trek Mind: 10 Facts About First Trek Tie-in Novel". StarTrek.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. ^ Ayers, Jeff (14 November 2006). Voyages of Imagination. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 1-4165-0349-8.
  3. ^ D'Ammassa, Don (May 2005). Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: Facts On File. p. 45. ISBN 0-8160-5924-1.
  4. ^ "Author: Kazuhiko Sano". ISFDB. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. ^ Blish, James (February 1968). "Errand of Mercy". Star Trek 2. Vol. F3439. New York: Bantam Books. p. 41.
  6. ^ Blish, James (July 1973). Spock Must Die!. Vol. HP5515. 9th printing. New York: Bantam Books (published February 1970).