Is 'Doctor's Orders' Worth Reading?

[ClayinCA]

Oh, I haven't read the book yet, so I didn't realize that Spock and Scotty were still around. I guess since Kirk put him in command on purpose, they must have decided to leave him in command.

No, that would've been pretty irresponsible in a crisis situation. The premise of the book was that they couldn't relieve him, that only Kirk had the authority to do that because it had been his order that had put McCoy in charge to begin with.

Which really doesn't make any sense, because otherwise Decker would have been completely unable to relieve Spock in "The Doomsday Machine," nor would Spock turning command over to Scotty in "Journey to Babel" have been an option. But Doctor's Orders is so great, and so much fun, that I'm more than willing to chalk it up to dramatic license.

 

[Stevil2001]

It always kinda bothered me in the book, but it does provide for the option that an admiral could relieve McCoy of command-- only their communications are jammed.

 

[Christopher]

^Which would account for Decker being able to relieve Spock, because a commodore outranks a captain, but not for the "Journey to Babel" thing.

 

[rfmcdpei]

I love TOS and I was planing to read this over my winter break (and watch TOS movies and TV). And I just want to know if it's worth my time?

You must read it. Must must must. It's just a very good, fun, novel.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I recommend reading this book.

Like some said, it's kind of stretching credibility when McCoy is given command over Spock and Scotty (due to ranking) but the book is a fun read....and it personally kept my attention.