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Das Ende der Dämmerung

(Star Trek: The Original Series #77)

Jerry Oltion,

Ronald M. Hahn (Translator)

3.59 · Rating details · 349 ratings · 21 reviews

Scotty steht vor der ultimativen Herausforderung für einen Ingenieur: Einen Planeten zum Rotieren zu bringen!

Anders als andere Planeten dreht sich Rimillia nicht um die eigene Achse. Daher sind seine Tag- und Nachtseite fortwährend den Extremen von heiß und kalt ausgesetzt. Nur ein dünner Streifen der Planetenoberfläche ist bewohnbar – bis jetzt.
Die Dumada planen, Rimillia ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, deutsche Erstausgabe, 260 pages

Published February 21st 2014 by CrossCult, Ludwigsburg (first published January 1996)

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Jan 13, 2016 Ashley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Star Trek Fans

Recommended to Ashley by: Found at thrift store.

5/5 Stars

In this Star Trek book, the crew finds themselves at the planet Rimillia. The people who occupy this planet are forced to live on a small, thin portion of the planet – the only part that is habitable. Since the planet doesn’t revolve on it’s axis (spin), there are only two other extreme temperatures: deadly hot and deadly cold. Kirk and the crew quickly learn that their help is wanted by some, but repelled by most. Once Kirk is taken captive by a rebel alliance, will Scotty be able to w ...more

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May 26, 2018 Jerry rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This one didn't do much for me. ...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Bryan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, sf

I enjoyed this book. Reading other reviews, it seems like most people found it to be a weaker addition to the Star Trek novel collection.

But perhaps I'm not the usual Star Trek reader. I fondly remember the original series, but I'm certainly not a Trek fan to any significant degree. I do, however, enjoy the characters, and I do read the Star Trek books by authors whose original SF writings I enjoy.

And I really enjoy Jerry Oltion. He's a great (and sadly underappreciated) SF author! He takes biza I enjoyed this book. Reading other reviews, it seems like most people found it to be a weaker addition to the Star Trek novel collection.

But perhaps I'm not the usual Star Trek reader. I fondly remember the original series, but I'm certainly not a Trek fan to any significant degree. I do, however, enjoy the characters, and I do read the Star Trek books by authors whose original SF writings I enjoy.

And I really enjoy Jerry Oltion. He's a great (and sadly underappreciated) SF author! He takes bizarre premises and gives them the most rigorous hard-science grounding possible, all while captivating the reader with an enjoyable and entertaining story-line involving realistic and likeable characters.

And this book is no exception. I really think Oltion outdid many of the other writers in terms of scientific rigor. He really gave great details on a planet tidally locked with its sun, and what effects that would have on the planet. And the addition of the binary was needed (as explained) to give the planet even a dismal chance of supporting life. So yes, I think Oltion did a great job in taking care to make the science realistic.

But it is Star Trek, isn't it? So we have subspace interactions from the impulse engines. (What is the fabric of subspace, anyways?) Not Oltion's fault that Star Trek has its own admittedly flimsy proprietary blend of scientific canon. Another reviewer here criticized Oltion's "trek-nology" but I applaud Oltion for trying to put some real science in, even though he had to blend it with "trek-tastic" science here and there.

As I've said, I really think Oltion does a great job with people. The characterizations of the main Trek crew in this novel is completely perfect. I enjoyed Spock in this novel most of all, but Oltion really gets everybody just right. And that includes the denizens of the planet itself - take time to consider how Oltion makes certain that there's internal consistency in the choices they make in terms of planetary ecology. Really, this was a fine work.

My only complaint might be that this could have been an epic hard-science novel (think Greg Bear in Moving Mars) if Oltion had not bothered to fit it into the Star Trek universe. This was good enough (and would have been better) had he kept the idea for his own, and created a stand-alone hard SF novel that follows the same storyline.

Very good and quick read. Give it a try, and then go look for Oltion's other work (start with Anywhere But Here). You will not be disappointed. ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 Kieran McAndrew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Rimillia has a unique problem. The planet is tidally locked in a binary star system. Kirk and his crew are dispatched to assist in a science project which aims to spin the planet up and maximise the land surface for everyone.

Oltion blends an intriguing scientific concept well with the 'Star Trek' template and the novel feels like it could easily be adapted for television. ...more

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Dec 12, 2015 Conan Tigard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Twilight's End takes place on a world where the planet does not spin. This means that most of the planet is inhabitable: either being in fulltime darkness and quite frozen, or in the sun all the time and burring hot. The inhabitants of the Rimillia live in the small band of twilight between the two extreme regions. The issue is that they would like to expand further around the planet, but cannot because of the extreme temperatures on the light and dark sides. So, they have come up with an ingeni Twilight's End takes place on a world where the planet does not spin. This means that most of the planet is inhabitable: either being in fulltime darkness and quite frozen, or in the sun all the time and burring hot. The inhabitants of the Rimillia live in the small band of twilight between the two extreme regions. The issue is that they would like to expand further around the planet, but cannot because of the extreme temperatures on the light and dark sides. So, they have come up with an ingenious way of to start the planet spinning on its axis by building thirty thousand impulse engines all over the planet. But the head scientist has disappeared and terrorists are threatening to destroy the engines. Is there any way that Captain Kirks ands the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise can help?

I have read other books in which planets don't spin and people have build their cities around the edge of the light zone. But unlike those other books, this one focuses on what it would take to spin the planet and make the entire world habitable. With a warming by day and a cooling by night, the entire planet of Rimillia would eventually be able to be settled by the people that live on the planet. Of course, there are always those that hate and fear change and will do anything to prevent it. In this story, these people are the terrorists that try to stop the spinning the planet.

I quite enjoyed this story by Jerry Oltion. I liked the fact that things don't go as planned with the engines and they had to call upon the Federation for help. What person could possible have the engineering skills to help them get 30,000 impulse engines all working as one? Why, Scotty, of course. After all, isn't he the miracle man that always keeps the Enterprise chugging along though space no matter what condition she may be in (I know that the Enterprise doesn't chug . . . I just thought it was funny to imagine.) I liked how the author was spot on with the crew of our favorite Federation starship and enjoyed the tense feeling throughout the story.

Will Scotty be able to help the Rimillians get their planet spinning? Will the terrorist be able to stop the process? Will Spock and Hughes dies on the dark side of the planet? Has the Enterprise been destroyed? Well, I'm certainly not going to tell you the answer to any of these questions here. The only way to know what is truly going on is to read this book yourself.

Overall, Twilight's End is another great story in the world of Star Trek. Personally, it is my favorite science fiction universe to read about as I have been a Trekkie since I was about 12-years-old, which was a long, long time ago. I highly enjoyed this story and found it a fun read. So, if you are a James T. Kirk and company fan, pick up a copy of this book today and prepare to be entertained.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10. ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Mikael Kuoppala rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An energetic and fun book with some great political undertones and keen characterization.

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Jan 22, 2016 Pam Bales rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

It is a novel set in the Star Trek Universe. Back in the day, they were terrific. If you are a fan of the series, you will enjoy the books.

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Jun 11, 2018 Andrew Beet rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Enjoyable read no deep messages the usual story where the crew have to help out a planet

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Jan 20, 2015 J.D. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

Oh, I've loved this book, really in spirit of TOS. Almost 5 stars. ...more

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Jun 09, 2022 Leigh rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, books-i-own, kindle-app, science-fiction-and-fantasy, star-trek

No kidding: one of the best ST:TOS novels I've ever read. Lots of science to enjoy, the characters are spot on (McCoy is a bit harsh but that's okay) and plenty for the background characters as well. I especially appreciate that Scott is a fine engineer who handles complex problems with courage and skill. A few nitpicks: it's HIGHLY unlikely that McCoy is third in command. Doctors aren't line officers and this is an odd mistake to make. Also, the deck is referred to as the floor and the bulkhead ...more

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Mar 16, 2021 Danielle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

The Enterprise crew solving BIG science problems that have cataclysmic sociopolitical and existential implications - my kind of Star Trek right here. It was rather cumbersome in its build up, not as exciting as you would expect, but once the climax of the book hit it was firing on all cylinders - literally. It was like experiencing an episode of the show, thrilling high stakes and Kirk pushing his crew - and the Enterprise - beyond their limits and them being able to meet those expectations and ...more

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May 05, 2022 Lauren Lloyd rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was fun to think about the mythologies, legends, and cultures that would form on a world as a result of the events in this book. It was a fun "episode" and had a decent mixture of a lot of the main character's perspectives. ...more

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Feb 05, 2021 James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A good relaxing read. Interesting concept for a story. Well worth reading.

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Apr 18, 2020 Unicycle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Nailed it.

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Jun 10, 2020 Jacquelin Siegel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Filled with Star Trek cliches.

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Nov 28, 2014 Stephen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek, st-tos

Somewhere in space lies a planet that's not spinning, and that just shouldn't be so. Tidally locked, it poses a great inconvenience to the colonists who occupy the permanent perimeter between frozen wastelands and scorched deserts. Their swelling population of 2 billion has destroyed what fragile biosphere there was, and rather than deciding to stop with the whole being-fruitful-and-multiplying business, they have decided instead to litter the planet with great big engines and then turn them on. Somewhere in space lies a planet that's not spinning, and that just shouldn't be so. Tidally locked, it poses a great inconvenience to the colonists who occupy the permanent perimeter between frozen wastelands and scorched deserts. Their swelling population of 2 billion has destroyed what fragile biosphere there was, and rather than deciding to stop with the whole being-fruitful-and-multiplying business, they have decided instead to litter the planet with great big engines and then turn them on. The planet doesn't want to spin? Too bad, because they're going to MAKE it spin, and Captain Kirk is going to help.

Twilight's End is a classic Trek adventure in which the Enterprise attempts to come to the aide of a world president/damsel in distress. Smooching with Kirk before he's even gotten his bearings, her plan for spinning the planet is scoffed at by a full panel of naysayers. While there exist sensible opposition (attempting to force a planet to spin is rather drastic) and somewhat more suspect opposition (Denialists who contend the poisoning of the atmosphere is perfectly natural and will correct itself eventually), there are others who are on the crazy violent side, those who believe this is Fate, that mother nature has decided that any race that could break two planets is just begging for extinction. (The colonists fled to this planet after stripping their last planet of all resources, then accidentally rendering it inhabitable when they hijacked an asteroid and directed it their way to mine it.) The crazy violent ones in due course kidnap a scientist, attempt to blow the Enterprise up, and give all the characters something to do while they are waiting for the planets to align the correct way. The sensible opposition, with McCoy on their side, believe that bioengineering is eminently more practical and less likely to blow the planet up: simply pore through the major plant species' genomes, find genes that would make the plant hardier, turn them on, and hey presto! An elegant solution to the problem. The plants will correct the toxicity by dumping oxygen into the atmosphere. Can McCoy find a suitable breed of tree before the engines start up? It would be nice if he could do it before, because between the crazy-violents and class warfare, this place won't stay peaceable for long.

Written in 1996, the book's tone seems vaguely reminiscent of the then nascent arguments about global warming, though the baddies are less global warming deniers and more ecological nuts, the kind who believe that human beinsgs are a cancer on the body of Earth who need to be eradicated. The leading opponent of the spinning planet is personable enough, and even causes some friction on the Enterprise when Kirk realizes his chief medical officer agrees more with the opposition than the people the Enterprise is helping. It's a fun novel, sometimes on the silly side; the author is obviously partial to beer, since characters throughout the story comment on their favorite kinds, and Kirk at one point comes up with an escape plan that involves brewing beer and getting some hostiles good and drunk. In the end, of course, technology saves the day; this is Star Trek, after all, where technology can do anything. The dialogue produces a few good moments between the core characters, and all told it's a fun bit of light reading. ...more

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Jan 22, 2015 David King rated it liked it · review of another edition

“Twilight's End” by Jerry Oltion is a Star Trek Original Series adventure in which the Enterprise comes to the aid of a tidally locked world whose inhabitants occupy a single thin strip of land. The ever increasing population has destroyed what fragile biosphere there was, and is now attempting to save their home by implementing an audacious plan to start the planet spinning by using a vast array of impulse engines spread across the planet.

I have to admit that I found the plot to be rather sill “Twilight's End” by Jerry Oltion is a Star Trek Original Series adventure in which the Enterprise comes to the aid of a tidally locked world whose inhabitants occupy a single thin strip of land. The ever increasing population has destroyed what fragile biosphere there was, and is now attempting to save their home by implementing an audacious plan to start the planet spinning by using a vast array of impulse engines spread across the planet.

I have to admit that I found the plot to be rather silly, the thought of using 30,000 engines to spin a planet just seemed a bit absurd to me. Oltion does at least try and put some scientific thought into what happens but in the end it feels like this is just another example for the magical technology of Star Trek being used to save the day even if the entire premise is nuts! Luckily, Oltion tries to use amusing commentaries and interactions between the main characters to lighten the overall tone of the novel so the silliness isn’t difficult to ignore.

One thing that Oltion has captured well, are the crew of the Enterprise. The characterisations are pretty much spot on and everyone seemed to act in a manner that I would have expected. In addition, the regular characters are supported by some interesting new characters from the planet itself. I can’t complain at all about that aspect of the novel.

My final note on the book is that there was an undertone to the plot which reminded me of the global warming arguments that were popular in the period that the novel was written. The discussions on ecological damage being done to the world and how we should react were of course the same discussions which were happening in the real world and to be honest still are.

Overall, this is an interesting enough Trek novel even if it does feel a little bit silly. Oltion’s writing is competent enough and it was interesting seeing him try to explain some of the science in a manner we don’t always get with Trek novels. If you are a fan of the more comic/silly Trek episodes then I suspect you may enjoy this one. ...more

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May 19, 2010 Kreg rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek-tos

The main idea of this book I had to roll my eyes at. Nice thought, but there are just too many things wrong with it. Using 30,000 impulse engines to rotate an inhabited planet tidally locked to it's sun is complete stupidity! At least the author does agree with some points - that the stress involved would cause major seismic activity which nearly caused the planet to break up, and of course the only thing that prevented it was the Enterprise coming through at the last hour (with great damage to ...more

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Aug 09, 2014 Daniel Kukwa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

When the novel's crisis moment finally arrives, it becomes an action-packed, compelling read. Up until that point, however, it's merely a pleasant diversion...when it could be so much more. It's a novel where the author is too enamored with the science plot, and leaves the character drama on a rather mild simmer...which is rather astonishing, considering the massive planetary peril involved. There's also a very odd side-track into the world of beer which borders on the surreal. A case of somethi ...more

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Nov 06, 2014 Joseph Stiles rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book is incredibly silly.

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About Jerry Oltion

Jerry Oltion

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Jerry Oltion (pronounced OL-tee-un) has been a gardener, stone mason, carpenter, oilfield worker, forester, land surveyor, rock 'n' roll deejay, printer, proofreader, editor, publisher, computer consultant, movie extra, corporate secretary, magazine columnist, and garbage truck driver. For the last 37 years he has also been a writer, with 15 novels and over 150 stories published so far. ...more