This Month in Star Trek Books: March 2012

The following Star Trek books will be available later this month:

Star Trek: Destiny
by David Mack
available: 3/13/2012

From the Publisher:

THREE THRILLING STAR TREK NOVELS IN ONE VOLUME!

Half a decade after the Dominion War and more than a year after the rise and fall of Praetor Shinzon, the galaxy’s greatest scourge, the Borg, returns to wreak havoc upon the Federation—and this time, its goal is nothing less than total annihilation.

Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth’s first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity.

From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains that some destinies are inescapable. For Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, defending the future has never been so important, or so personal—and the wrong choice will cost him everything for which he has struggled and suffered. For Captain William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, that choice has already been made—haunted by the memories of those he was forced to leave behind, he must jeopardize all that he has left in a desperate bid to save the Federation. And for Captain Ezri Dax of the U.S.S. Aventine, whose impetuous youth is balanced by the wisdom of many lifetimes, the choice is a simple one: there is no going back—only forward to whatever future awaits them. . . .

CONTAINS THE COMPLETE AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DESTINY TRILOGY

GODS OF NIGHT

MERE MORTALS

LOST SOULS

Star Trek: Vanguard: Storming Heaven

by David Mack

available: 3/27/2012

From the Publisher:

“I WAS THERE UNTILTHE END, MATE. THE BITTER, BLOODY END.”

Vanguard is under siege. Surrounded by enemies, Admiral Nogura sends the scout ship Sagittarius to find an ancient weapon that might be the Federation’s only hope of stopping the alien threat known as the Shedai . . . Qo’noS is wracked by scandal. Councillor Gorkon fights to expose a Romulan plot to corrupt members of the Klingon High Council, only to learn the hard way that crusaders have few allies, and even fewer friends . . . Tholia teeters on the brink of madness. To prevent Starfleet from wielding theShedai’s power as its own, the Tholians deploy an armada with one mission: Kill the Shedai—by destroying Vanguard.

THE EPIC SAGA’S EXPLOSIVE FINALE

Star Trek, Volume 1

written by Mike Johnson, drawn by Steve Molnar

available: 3/27/2012

From the Publisher:

The adventures of the Starship Enterprise continue in this new story that picks up where the blockbuster 2009 film left off! Featuring the new cast of the film, these missions re-imagine the stories from the original series in the alternate timeline created by the film, along with new threats and characters never seen before! With creative collaboration from Star Trek writer/producer Roberto Orci, this new series begins the countdown to the much-anticipated movie sequel premiering in 2012!           



Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Avatar, Books One and Two

by S.D. Perry

In 2001, Pocket Books, longtime publishers of Star Trek fiction, tried something new.  For the first time, they would continue the story of one of the television series beyond the events of the final episode.  A considerable challenge, especially since the series in question was the excellent Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a series that was known for complex storylines and an ever-shifting status quo.  Not only was the quality of the series very high, but events in the final episode had removed many of the main characters from the cast.  The two-part Avatar series meets these challenges by providing a great story by S.D. Perry, a writer who had done little previous work in the Star Trek universe, and by introducing many new characters to the cast.

Book One opens with a timeline detailing all of the major events that occurred over the course of the DS9 television series, which served as a great reminder of where everyone was left after the final episode, and also reminded me of just how much I loved DS9.  After the timeline, the story begins three months after the events of the final episode (which is also the length of time that would have passed between seasons of the television series), with Jake Sisko's discovery of a heretical Bajoran prophecy, which seems to indicate that Jake must travel into the wormhole to bring back his father, Benjamin Sisko, who has ascended linear time to live with the godlike Prophets.  Meanwhile, Colonel Kira Nerys has assumed command of Deep Space Nine, which has been left nearly defenseless after the recently concluded Dominion War.  While repairs are being made to the station and to the Defiant, the U.S.S. Aldebaran has been tasked with providing the station's defense.  Despite the recently brokered peace, the station is indeed attacked by a small group of Jem'Hadar warships, and the Aldebaran is destroyed in the process.  The station is saved in the nick of time by the Defiant, under the command of Ezri Dax, whose experiences in the battle will lead her to reevaluate her life as a joined Trill and her career in Starfleet.  As in the television series, these books mix political intrigue with religious and mystical themes, as the same heretical text that contained the prophecy about the possible return of Benjamin Sisko also seems to indicate that a large number of Bajorans must die to herald the birth of the Avatar, the unborn child of Benjamin Sisko and Kasidy Yates.

S.D. Perry has a firm grasp on the tone of the series and the characters.  Kira Nerys struggles with the burden of command and suffers a devastating loss at the very end of Book Two.  Dr. Julian Bashir and Ensign Ezri Dax's budding romance is handled with nuance and complexity.  The Ferengi barkeep  Quark provides his usual comedic relief, even as his nephew Nog continues to come into his own as a capable Starfleet officer.  As well as these familiar characters are handled, it is in the introduction of some exciting new characters that the Avatar books really shine.  Among the new members of the cast are:

 * Ensign ch'Thane, an Andorian officer whose mother is a high ranking Federation diplomat.  As this novel was published before Star Trek: Enterprise was on the air, the Andorians were a still somewhat unexamined alien race in the Star Trek universe, and the addition of ch'Thane should open up a lot of storytelling possibilities, particularly as the young officer seems to be hiding a lot of secrets about his past.

 * Commander Elias Vaughn, a 101 year old Starfleet officer who has been involved in covert missions for decades, and who experiences a spiritual epiphany when he and the crew of the Enterprise uncover the lost Bajoran Orb of Memory.  While it has long been established that humans of the twenty-fourth century live considerably longer than their counterparts in the present day, the concept has never really been explored on any of the various Star Trek series, making Elias Vaughn an intriguing and welcome addition to the cast.

 * Ro Laren, a popular supporting character from Star Trek: The Next Generation, formerly of Starfleet and the Maquis, now serving with Bajoran Special Forces and assigned as the new security chief of Deep Space Nine. The agnostic Ro is an excellent foil for the devout Colonel Kira.  One of the best things about Odo, the previous chief of security, was his antagonistic relationship with Quark.  The relationship between Ro Laren and Quark is quite different but no less entertaining: He is in love with her.

 * Taran'atar is perhaps my favorite of the new characters, a Jem'Hadar soldier with a genetic immunity to ketracel white who has been sent by Odo to learn about humanity from his friends aboard DS9.  All of the various incarnations of Star Trek have included an outsider character who struggled with the concept of humanity, and Odo was that character on DS9.  Having him send Taran'atar to the station, ostensibly to fulfill that role anew, was a brilliant move that should, again, provide for rich storylines.

These books kept me on the edge of my seat, and are excellent science fiction novels that maintain the high level of quality established by the television series.  The bar was set very high by the television show, and the Avatar books have likewise established a very high level of quality that I hope the following books in the series are able to match.  An excellent start to an exciting new chapter of Star Trek fiction.