Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve read over 100 Star Trek books and there were some I really wanted to add onto the list, but they did not make a cut. This is done to achieve this.
10. The Original Series #47: the Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar
Kobayashi Maru is the most infamous test in Star Trek, the ultimate no-win scenario. It is meant to test young Starfleet cadets that not all situations are winnable and that they should be prepared to lose. Kobayashi Maru is a ship trapped in the Klingon Neutral Zone, but it is a trap to draw starships into an unwinnable fight with Klingon ships. However, in the case of Kirk, he does not believe in a no-win situation, and he makes it a career to defy the odds. This is the story of revealing how Kirk, Scotty, Chekov and Sulu’s Kobayashi Maru tests went. Trapped on a shuttle that is powerless and lacks the ability to communicate with the outside world, to pass the time, the crew tells how their various Kobayashi Maru tests went. This is a great book that offers insights into the crew’s younger years and how they became the Starfleet officers they are, particularly in the case of Chekov, Kirk, Scotty and Sulu. This is a great book because we finally learn how Kirk beat the test by cheating, and it is the first true prequel we obtained in terms of exploring the crew’s backstory. I particularly enjoyed Chekov’s and Sulu’s stories, with the latter having some emotional weight. Scotty, of course, comes up with the most maddening solution for beating the test. The book is well-written and emotional and provides excellent insight into how the crew became the people they are in the Original Series and films.
8.5/10
9. Deep Space Nine: The Lives of Dax by various
I usually roll my eyes at anthology stories, but this buckles the trend. Jadzia Dax is easily one of the best characters on DS9, but for one particular reason. She bonded to a symbiote that had lived for over 300 years and had six hosts before her. She is a Trill, whose species bonds to a symbiote, which are not anything like Venom from Marvel Comics, but they look more like a gray slug/xylitol-looking creature, and the symbiotes are functionally immortal. Also, they are more nice and don’t crave human flesh. Through this, the hosts gain knowledge of the previous symbiote hosts, making them some of the smartest and wisest people in Trek. Throughout DS9, we learn about Dax’s previous hosts from Curzon to the murderous Joran, and we gain glimpses of her various hosts, but we never learn the full story of all of them. This book has corrected this.
Written by multiple Trek authors such as Judith and Garfield Reeves- Steven, Jeffery Lang, Greg Cox and more, this is a great anthology series as it answers many questions about the past of the Dax symbiote and also about the Trill as a people. It is also probably one of the best DS9 books, by default.
10/10
8. Star Trek: Voyager: The Homecoming Dulogy by Christine Golden
Finally, I will discuss some Voyager books. In the finale of Voyager, after the future Admiral Janeway brings the crew home and helps them destroy the Borg transwarp hub, effectively crippling the Borg, we never get to see the crew reunite with their loved ones. How do they adjust to life in the Alpha Quadrant? How did they deal with the aftermath of the Dominion War? How do they feel reunited with their loved ones? In particular, how do Seven of Nine, a former Borg drone, and the Doctor, a holographic medical officer, deal with a world that is hostile to them? The duology of books answers this question.
To be fair to you, I find that these books go off the rails, particularly in the case of the second book where the Borg subplot takes center stage. However, these books are great because they give us what was missing in the Voyager finale, the crew reunited with their loved ones, and how they react to being back in the Alpha Quadrant.
7/10
7. Star Trek: Voyager #19-21: the Dark Matters Trilogy by Christine Golden
By the same author as the previous entry, this is truly one of my favourite trilogies in Star Trek. This is also very underrated in my opinion. Dark Matters deals with the Voyager crew suddenly falling ill with dark matter, the substance that makes up the known universe. At the start of their journey back home to the Alpha Quadrant, the Voyager crew made contact with a Romulan scientist 20 years ago named Telek, via a wormhole. Despite the fact that this could have gotten the Voyager crew home, due to the fact that Telek existed for 20 years in the past, this could have disrupted the timeline and risk of the Voyager crew being captured by the Romulans, along with their advanced technology. In the Eye of the Needle is personally one of my favourite Voyager episodes, thanks in part to Vaughan Armstrong’s performance as Telek and the sympathy he feels for Janeway and the crew. At the end of the episode, he promises to pass on information to Starfleet and their families that they are still alive and well, but he dies before he gets the chance to do so.
This trilogy of books expands upon Telek’s backstory and how he was really able to get in touch with Janeway and the crew. It also reveals a plan by the Romulan Star Empire to steal Voyager’s advanced technology and use its advantages against the Federation. However, not all is as it seems that the Romulans and the Voyager crew are being pushed by an outside force determined to bring about the end of the universe, as we know it with dark matter! This trilogy of books is great because it is a solid Voyager story, offers answers about Telek, and is a wonderful sequel to the Eye of the Needle. Easily some of the best Voyager books out there
8/10
6. Voyager Relaunch: Full Circle- the Eternal Tide by Christine Golden
I count this book as one because it contains the first massive arc of the second Voyager relaunch. Christine Golden after Homecoming would go on to write another duology called Spirit Walk which focused on Chakotay as captain of Voyager and Janeway becoming an Admiral. However, it was not well received by fans; therefore, a second relaunch occurred. Janeway was also killed after being assimilated by the Borg in the Next Generation novel, Before Dishonor by Peter David, which was also not received very well by fans.
Thus, taking things back to the basics, Kirsten Beyer started the second relaunch of Voyager. Starting with a Full Circle, it primarily wraps up loose ends from the series and the previous relaunch in an excellent fashion. It primarily deals with the Warriors of Gre’thor ( if I am spelling that right) and the prophecy of Tom Paris and B’elanna Torre’s child, Miral, supposedly being the Klingon messiah. The second half of Full Circle deals with the aftermath of Janeway’s death before Dishonor and its effects on Voyager’s former crew, particularly Chakotay and Starfleet’s attempt to send back another expedition into the Delta Quadrant. Full Circle is an excellent book, and I highly enjoyed it, as it sets up the relaunch of Voyager in excellent fashion and gives all the characters excellent arcs. It also sends them back to the Delta Quadrant, which the next two books primarily address. But Eternal Tide also sees the return of Janeway from the dead, with help from Q Junior to deal with the Omega Continuum. It’s my second favourite after Full Circle, which I would say is the best Voyager novel I have read so far. These first four books as a whole are excellent as they bring Voyager back to basics, focus on what made it great in the first place, and make it far more compelling and interesting than the show. Voyager always suffered from weak writing compared to TNG and DS9, but this is fixed here. This makes these books great.
8/10
5. The Original Series: Spock’s World by Diane Duane
The Federation in crisis! On Vulcan, a vote to leave the Federation will occur, and Kirk, Spock, and McCoy must go to Vulcan to testify to the merits of staying in the Federation. Throughout the book, chapters of Vulcan history reveal how the Vulcan language was created, the origin of Vulcan philosophy, medieval culture, Vulcan’s first steps into outer space, Surak, and his creation of following logic over emotion. This is another excellent book written by Diane Duane, who I featured in the first part. This book is also an excellent deep dive into Vulcan culture and history and makes it feel like a lived and ancient world, more then as it was portrayed in the Original Series and movies. The writing is also excellent and flows incredibly well, and the debate on whether Vulcan should leave or stay in the Federation actually carries weight. I highly recommend this book if you like Vulcans or are interested in the character of Spock.
8.5/10
4. The Original Series #50: Doctor’s Orders by Diane Duane
McCoy is easily one of my favourite characters in Trek, along with Garak, Kirk, Picard and Data. I love the old, crotchety country doctor, who does not belong in space. I relate to him so much, and he serves as Kirk’s emotional anchor, in contrast to Spock’s logical and scientific mind. He also serves as a voice of reason and passion among the various science-fiction mishaps that occur throughout the series. This book deals with the Enterprise being told to go to a non-aligned world with three unique species that live on the same planet and to get them all to petition to join the Federation. However, Kirk is accidentally sent foward in time a week. Before he left, he jokingly put McCoy in charge of the bridge, expecting to be gone for only two hours, but McCoy now finds himself in a deadly crisis. Now McCoy, as acting captain, must deal with Klingons and Orion pirates that seek to claim the world as their own, all without Kirk!
This book puts an excellent focus on McCoy and his character and shows how lucky Kirk is to have the people he has around him. It is also very funny to see McCoy have to deal with such a deadly crisis and be unable to give control of the ship to Spock because of regulations. McCoy proved to be a competent leader. It also provides great dialogue between him and Spock, which is always a joy to read and watch in the T.V show. Overall, this is a fun rip-roaring adventure that gives McCoy great character development and we get to see him in a situation we never thought we would see him as; captain of the Enterprise! Diane Duane’s writing is top form here and this is my favourite book by her. She captures the spirit, feels, and heart of the TOS in her writing here and which makes it such a great book.
9/10
4. Deep Space Nine: the Millennium Trilogy by Judith and Garfield Reeves Steven
This trilogy takes place between seasons 6 and 7 of DS9 and includes all the great makings of a Star Trek book: time travel, overpowered characters, alternate realities, and more. Mysterious events occur on DS9, such as the murder of an Andorian criminal, two dead Cardassians being found, and the discovery of a mysterious holodeck that no one has ever seen at the station. Quark is framed for the murder of the Andorian, and soon an infamous Cardassian scientist arrives. However, how are all of these events connected?
Sisko and crew are now forced into a tight race to prevent the long-lost orbs of the Second Celestial Temple from falling into the wrong hands! They must also prevent a second wormhole, the long-lost Second Celestial Temple of the Bajorian faith, from opening and potentially destroying the universe. This great book truly embodies the spirit of DS9 and involves two of Star Trek’s greatest plot devices: time travel and alternate universes. In the case of the alternate universe, we get to see one where the Federation and the Borg team up, a Bajor that is the most powerful planet in the galaxy, Jean Luc Picard building the largest starship to stop them, and Weyoun as the Emissary of the Prophets, oh my! Timey, wimey, and wibbly wobbly temporal antics also occur. However, this trilogy of books feels like a true encore for DS9 after the series ended and celebrates what makes it truly great, its character, its heart, and capturing some of Star Trek’s greatest plot devices and its embrace of darker themes.
8/10
3. The Next Generation #47-49: The Q Continuum Trilogy by Greg Cox
Q is one of my favourite characters in all of Trek, thanks mainly to the performance of John De Lancie. As mentioned in my previous post about my favourite Star Trek books, Q-Squared is easily one of my favourites. I would argue that this trilogy of books makes up the second-best book about Q. After the events of Generations and First Contact, Picard and Crew are sent to the Galatic Barrier to penetrate it and get to the other side. They are going to test a device designed by a Betazoid scientist, but his intentions were less than glamorous. Q soon appears to Picard to stop this from happening and to prevent the galaxy from being overrun by an evil entity! Q himself is responsible for this entity entering our universe.
We do not really learn anything about the backstory of Q in TNG or other related shows. We do get to see the Continuum in Voyager and the resulting civil war, but nothing else. This trilogy of books is the closest thing we are going to get to a backstory for Q and how he becomes the individual that he is that we see in the TNG. This trilogy of books is mostly great for bringing together and explaining the various god-like entities that exist in Star Trek, such as Sha Ka Ree from the Final Frontier and more from the Original Series, and Q is indirectly responsible for bringing them into our universe. It also has excellent tie-ins to other parts of the Trek canon, such as the fall of the T’Kon Empire, which is featured in the book, Gorgan, how the galactic barrier was created, and why and even how Q is responsible for the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs! This was my first dive into the world of trek literature, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Cox has always done a great job of weaving together disparate parts of the Trek canon together into a concise and great story, and this continues that trend.
8/10
2. The Next Generation: The Immortal Coil by Jeffery Lang
One of the best Star Trek novels in my opinion and the best story about data out there. After the events of Generations and First Contact, Data struggled to deal with his emotion chip. This was granted to him by his creator, Noonien Singh, for him to become more human. When a prototype for an advanced android is stolen from the Daystrom Institute, Data and crew are sent across the galaxy to determine why and Data must come to terms while dealing with his newfound emotion. Soon, a galaxy-wide conspiracy was discovered that links various AI, androids, and robots from throughout Trek history, and only Data can stop it!
This book is incredibly incredible: Not only does it give data the true solo treatment he always deserved, the way it ties the various AI, androids, and robots into the story we have seen throughout Star Trek is incredible. From the androids from “What are Little Girls Made of?” to the M5 computer from ” the Ultimate Computer, ” even the freaking Exo-comps from TNG are tied in masterfully well. It also contains some of the best actions I have read in a Star Trek book, and the finale of the book is just absolutely perfect. It gives everything you want in a Star Trek book: great character development, excellent world-building, crossover with other series, action, and, overall, a wonderful and powerful beating heart. I love this book so much; I am going to give it a perfect rating.
10/10
The Original Series: Cast No Shadow by James Swallow
1. This book is fantastic and highly underrated. After the events of the Undiscovered Country and the supposed death of Kirk in the hands of the Nexus, the galaxy is in an interesting place. With the newly signed Khitomer Accords, there was fragile peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Federation is helping to rebuild the Klingon homeworld after the destruction of its moon Praxis. But when a series of attacks occur in both the Federation and the Klingon Empire that tie back to Admiral Cartwright’s conspiracy, it’s up to the least likely person to stop them; Valeris, Spock’s former protege and betrayer of the Federation.
This is an excellent novel as we get a deep dive experience of the character of Valeris and a great exploration of the Lost Era of Trek. We see the early formation of the Klingon Federation alliance and the world in the TNG. We also see characters like Spock, Sulu, and Matthew Vaughan, and how they got to be where they were in the TNG era. However, most importantly, this is an excellent spy thriller and serves as a redemption for the character of Valeris. This book perfectly embodies the darker vibe of the Lost Era and plugs you into the world of trek politics, with it a murky and morally grey world. It is also mainly a great rip-roaring adventure and is highly underrated in my view.
9/10
That was the second part of my favourite Trek books, and I can always do a third if there is demand for it. I hope you all like my list and look forward to hearing from your favourites.
Rants and Stuff 