As portrayed in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, all Starfleet Command cadets must take the "no-win" Kobayashi Maru rescue simulation. Trapped aboard a doomed shuttlecraft, the Enterprise officers reminisce about their individual performances on the Kobayashi Maru test . . . reminiscences that spark a last, desperate attempt at survival.
The Kobayashi Maru (Star Trek)
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From the Publisher
A freak shuttlecraft accident -- and suddenly Captain Kirk and most of his senior officers find themselves adrift in space, with no hope of rescue, no hope of repairing their craft, or restoring communications -- with nothing, in short, but time on their hands.
Time enough for each to tell the story of the Kobayashi Maru -- the Starfleet Academy test given to command cadets. Nominally a tactical exercise, the Kobayashi Maru is in fact a test of character revealed in the choices each cadet makes, and does not make.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Faye
Format:Paperback
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I received it as a gift ten years ago, and I still reread it from time to time. I enjoy it thoroughly each time. The Kobayashi Maru is a simulator exercise all command students at Starfleet Academy must go through to test how well they respond to losing. Decades after they took the test, several officers of the starship Enterprise leave the ship in a small shuttlecraft on what is supposed to be a routine mission. When the shuttlecraft is disabled, cutting off the craft's communications and other vital functions, they are left with nothing but time, and they end up telling each other about their experiences with the Kobayashi Maru exercise. My favorite of the four stories is that of Scotty, who is in command school at Starfleet Academy to please his mother but feels that he is "meant more for commanding machines than commanding people." My second favorite is the story of Sulu, who in his first year in command school learns painful lessons about life, death, and meaning from his great-grandfather. This story makes me cry every time. I also like the story of Chekov, whose passions, resentments, and blind spots will remind the mature of what it was like to be an adolescent pickling in emotional turmoil. I felt that the story of Kirk was the weakest of the four; Kirk can't accept the concept of losing and will do anything to avoid coming face to face with defeat. For a man who is supposed to be intelligent and skilled, this is an asinine attitude. Life is about losing, and the sooner one comes to terms with that, the sooner one starts to grow. On the whole, however, this book is outstanding.
By James Yanni
Format:Paperback
The external, "frame" part of this story is obviously simply an excuse to set the stage for the four internal stories; as such, it actually wound up being better than expected, if somewhat predictable. The internal stories are the stories of how each of Kirk, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov reacted to the "Kobayashi Maru" scenerio in their academy days, ostensibly told by each to the others to pass the time.
The biggest problem here is that the author goes to all that trouble to establish that the characters are telling their own stories, and then tells the stories in third person/omniscient narrator format. Granted, given that no one has ever claimed that any of the above characters are accomplished storytellers, if would have been difficult to keep the stories in their own voices, but it would have been much better if it could have been managed.
As a more minor problem, there are bits and pieces of each story that don't quite ring true, but that's a subjective assessment. They weren't bad, and certainly were worth reading. But none of them were quite what I would have liked to see.
As a whole, this book is worth reading, but not one of the best.
By T. J. Doss
Format:Paperback
Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, and Chekov are stranded around the campfire as it were and so they decide to past the time by relating their experiences on the famed Kobyashi Maru test for the benefit of all - especially Dr. McCoy who as a medical officer never took the command school scenario-test. Each story provides further insight into each of the characters even if it is a little predictable at times. The reader is treated to a better understanding of Kirk's famous solution, a "Die-Hard-like" Chekov episode, a touching Sulu offering, and a very humorous Scott contribution. It's worth the time it takes to read it even though I have a hard time believing that Captain Sulu would have reacted to the test in the manner that he did.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
More details on Kirk's plan, please!
This book was a fun read, but I wish the author offered more details on how Kirk reprogrammed the simulator computer. Did he use his fellow cadet's computer expertise? Read more
Published on Dec 31 2002 by Robert Feyerharm
3.0 out of 5 stars
One of the weaker books in the Star Trek series
The command test scenario Kobayashi Maru is a test of how well you fail. A simulation where the enemy has unlimited resources, it is designed so that it is impossible to win. Read more
Published on Oct 13 2002 by Charles Ashbacher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life-altering decisions
While waiting for the Enterprise to rescue their severely damaged shuttlecraft, Kirk, Chekov, Sulu, and Scotty describe their experiences taking the Kobayashi Maru test, as taken... Read more
Published on July 20 2002 by Ben Riddle
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little-known gem
When I was younger I was a big fan of the ST:TOS and ST:TNG series of novels. But if you read these series for any length of time you soon come to realize that most of these books... Read more
Published on Jan 11 2001 by Nick Kapur
4.0 out of 5 stars
Character studies of a quartet of Starfleet Cadets
Julia Ecklar does two things with the Kobayashi Maru simulation that was one of the most interesting sub-plots in "Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan. Read more
Published on Oct 13 2000 by Lawrance M. Bernabo
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ten thumps down
Not comprehensive. Not very well-written. Plus, the author doesn't know much about Klingon culture. Reading the book is a waste of time. I even considered discarding the book
Published on April 13 2000 by Ichirou Ohgami
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Rules
This book is four stories, three in the past and one in the present. Chekov, Kirk, Scotty, Sulu and McCoy are trapped in a ripped up shuttle and must stay alive (they live, DUH). Read more
Published on May 9 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent story of ST characters
This book provides thrilling and exciting tales of some of the Enterprises hero's from their academy days. Read more
Published on July 9 1997
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