Carl Roberts 
“This book is no Tribble at all! It is to be enjoyed and picked over time and again!”
Say what you like about the ‘Nerd Search’ books, there’s one thing you can’t dispute. That they are at the very least, entertaining, amusing, informative, and taxing for the little grey brain cells. Of course, it helps if you are a complete geek on whatever franchise the particular book is based on but regardless of this, you can have so much fun with them. And so it goes with ‘Star Trek: Quibbles With Tribbles‘. Now, I’m a huge ‘Star Trek‘ fan and yes, I DO actually own a few Tribbles (stuffed toys that squeak when squeezed, of course!) in my collection but I have to admit, even I struggled to find everything wrong inside the pages. And that infuriated me and entertained me in almost equal measures. But that is what makes the book so enjoyable. It is designed to make the reader think, study, and discover everything, and even if you don’t find everything the first time, you can put it down for a few days, think it over and then try again, clean.
Star Trek: Quibbles With Tribbles | by Glenn Dakin
The front cover of the book is a wonderful drawing depicting Kirk, some Klingons, and of course, the tribbles themselves. But once again, there are errors on the front cover that the keen Trek fan will spot almost instantly once they cast their eyes on the cover. It did give me a giggle as I saw the errors and the amount of ‘Red Shirts’ that are in trouble on the cover. As we turn over and take a look at the back cover, we find out what the pages inside will bring to us. The pages contain some brilliant illustrations of classic scenes from the original series from artist John Ross but with considerable intentional errors. Let me tell you, the errors are niggling at the brain. You know something is wrong but unless you’re a total geek, they will avoid your gaze and will bother the reader. It’s staring you in the face but you just can’t see it. And it’s fun trying to discover exactly what they are.
Once again, a scorecard is included so the reader can mark their progress throughout the book, and once more, I suggest using a pencil with an eraser so you can scrub out your answers and start all over again or allow your family and friends to give it a go. Once more, the explanation of what exactly a Nerd Search is and what it entails is given to the reader alongside a rundown of how to use the book and the scoring system. Again, the answers are on page 24 (No cheating now!) and it is explained to the reader exactly how to get to the maximum number of points that can be achieved during the trials the book contains. And naturally, the maximum amount of points that can be gained is 1701. It was obvious that the points tally would end on this number! (For those NOT in the know, The U.S.S Enterprise‘s number is NCC-1701). As we turn the page to a section called ‘To Nerdily Go‘, we are given some more information regarding the show and some of the terms coined by the franchise. With headings of ‘First Trek Con‘, ‘Prime Directive‘, Vulcan Moon‘, and ‘Knurd To Nerd‘, the reader will gather more facts that they may not know. The following page gives us a list of all 79 episodes of the original series before we plunge into our task with all phasers blaring.
Verdict:
I cannot go into any more details regarding what the reader will find in the following pages as it would spoil the enjoyment the book contains. But suffice to say, it is a blast looking and identifying all the mistakes and errors that have been placed on the pages. Each one is brain taxing and will leave the Star Trek geeks (myself included) with huge grins on their faces. Of course, they run the risk of being infuriated that their beloved franchise has been tainted in this way but that’s the entire point. It is to be enjoyed and picked over time and again and it will be fun to see the non-fans attempt it.
Hey, it’s even an idea to get a few teams of Trek fans to compete against each other to see who are the ultimate Star Trek nerds! The possibilities are endless and the enjoyment that the book contains is easy to return to overtime. It is certainly a great addition to my Star Trek collection and I found loads to enjoy.
It is indeed Warp Factor Fun!
Star Trek: Quibbles with Tribbles by Glenn Dakin is published by Eaglemoss/Hero Collector and is available to buy NOW!
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Carl Roberts is a Senior Entertainment/Books and Literature Correspondent for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!
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Editors Note | A big thank you to our friends at Hero Collector for sending over our advance review copy.
Carl Roberts is the News Editor for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
