Search for Spock: A ‘Star Trek’ Book of Exploration by Robb Pearlman is the latest fun addition to your Star Trek library.
In the same vein of Pearlman’s earlier works, Fun with Kirk and Spock and Redshirts Little Book of Doom, this book is appropriate for both adults and children. Even as an adult without any children, I found a lot to enjoy!
Search for Spock most closely resembles the classic Where’s Waldo? series, but with a Star Trek twist. Instead of Waldo, the reader is searching from Mr. Spock, who is hiding among each double page spread crowded with many different characters.
The pages are colorful, vibrant, and joyful. I found locating Spock in some of the settings was pretty challenging, particularly “A Mob Scene” and “The Crowded Side of Paradise.” Spock does not always appear in his Starfleet uniform, and some parts of the page spreads suffer a little from a soft focus, but when you finally find Spock it’s clearly him.
The page settings mostly take inspiration from classic episodes of Star Trek, with a few other cool ideas thrown in, such as a page spread set at a Star Trek convention. This setting was one of my personal favorites, with many characters and vignettes familiar to any fan who has attended a convention.
In addition to Spock, there are a number of Easter eggs spread across each page. The final page at the back of the book has a checklist of all of the Easter eggs hidden throughout. I’m still working my way through finding all of them!
There are so many that I don’t want to spoil, but one I particularly enjoyed because he’s one of my favorite characters was spotting Lt. Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager hidden among a scene on Vulcan — see if you can find him in the preview image below!
There are a few nods to the wider Star Trek canon spread around the book, but this is mostly an Original Series book in its content.
Overall, Search for Spock was a lot of fun. If you have kids, you’ll particularly enjoy working together to try and find Mr. Spock, and if you’re an adult, it’s fun to find all of the references to various Star Trek episodes. Robb Pearlman clearly loves Star Trek, and brings his signature wit and charm to every project that he has worked on so far.
Star Trek publishing has really stepped up its game in recent years in releasing all kinds of books that appeal to different audiences, including younger audiences. I applaud them for their courage in publishing non-traditional books that go beyond the standard reference works, and encourage fans to seek them out.
Search for Spock: A ‘ Star Trek’ Book of Exploration was a lot of fun!
If you liked Search for Spock, you should check out:
- Fun with Kirk and Spock by Robb Pearlman – Pearlman’s first whimsical exploration of the Star Trek universe tells the story of famous episodes of the Original Series in a satirical way that appeals to both adults and children.
- Redshirts Little Book of Doom by Robb Pearlman – See the Star Trek universe through the eyes of a redshirt, for whom nothing can ever seem to go right! This book is also a lot of fun.