How Much for Just the Planet?

infobox Book |
name = How Much for Just the Planet?
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = John M. Ford
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Star Trek: TOS #36
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Pocket Books
release_date = October 1987
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages = 251
isbn = ISBN 0-671-62998-0 (first edition, paperback)
preceded_by = The Romulan Way
followed_by = Bloodthirst

"How Much for Just the Planet?" is a 1987 "Star Trek" tie-in novel by John M. Ford.

Plot

In the novel, large deposits of dilithium are detected on a colony planet, and delegations are sent by the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire to negotiate for mining rights (neither able to openly fight against the other because of the "Organian Lightbulbs", a reference to the Organians from the original series). They find the planet Direidi and its inhabitants to be very strange indeed. Planet inhabitants occasionally break into song to explain their narratives, and both crews (as well as the three person crew of the Federation prospector that found the planet in the first place) get into various adventures with the planet's inhabitants. In the end, it turns out that the inhabitants have set everything up according to "Plan C" - Comedy. All of the adventures the two crews encountered were designed to soften them up so that they wouldn't mine the whole planet, but would be willing to work with the inhabitants and each other.

Klingons

The Klingons in this novel are based in the historical and cultural backstory created by Ford for his earlier novel "The Final Reflection", which differs in many respects from the Klingon culture developed independently in later "Star Trek" television series. However, Ford uses elements from the Marc Okrand-developed Klingonese (which became the canonical Klingon language) mixed with Ford's own invented Klingonaase.

The 'U.S.S. Smith'

The U.S.S. Jefferson Randolph Smith (NCC-29407), a prospector Sulek-class Federation starship is under the command of captain Tatyana Trofimov. John Ford named this ship after nineteenth century badman Jefferson Randolph Smith, alias Soapy Smith.

Writers appearing as characters

One of the notable things about the book is the number of real-life people who wind up as characters. [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.written/msg/17cca1f8d6b1d4f5 - John M. Ford post from March 1995]

*Princess DeeDee the First: Diane Duane
*Pete Blackwood: Peter Morwood
*Ilen the Magian: Neil Gaiman
*Pam: Pamela Dean
*Janeka: Janet Kagan
*Lieutenant "Ann" (walk-on, belowdecks): Ann Crispin
*The Stage Manager: Ford himself

References

External links