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 Una Chin-Riley is the poster girl for Starfleet: smart, driven, and dedicated. She's a by-the-book student, not afraid to ask questions and to quote the manual when she thinks something is being done incorrectly.  And like all really good students, she's also active in extra-curricular activities.  She's often the lead in the Academy-produced opera and she has sympathies for displaced peoples and works with groups to help people seeking asylum. Christopher Pike is an ensign, having only recently graduated from the Academy, he's back at Starfleet waiting for a hearing for an incident during his short tenure on the ship.  He's asked to give a lecture to students ... he's closer in age to them  (compared to the usually retired people who lecture) and yet he's got actual starship experience. Pike takes a liking to Una, despite her being so by-the-book and his realizing 'the book' doesn't have all the answers out in space. 25 years later, Christopher...

STAR TREK WEEK  It's never been told before, but finally we can read about the final mission of the Starship Enterprise . It's been five years and Captain Kirk and his crew have encountered many new life forms and discovered many inhabited worlds but will this mission bring about the end of the Federation itself? The mission brings Kirk full circle as they head to Archernar IV, where Kirk had his first mission as the Enterprise captain. The natives here are essentially giant, intelligent spiders, and their beasts of burden are centipedes. The story mostly looks at character growth.  How much have Kirk and Spock and bones matured, as people and as Starfleet officers during the past five years. I found this to be a well-written, interesting story and the art was generally okay (I miss the work of Gordon Purcell who worked on a number of different Star Trek comics) but there are enough oddly drawn scenes to take me out of the story. I've randomly opened to a couple of page...

STAR TREK WEEK In 2024, investigative reporter Melinda Silver tries to track down whatever happened to Gillian Taylor, an influential marine biologist who walked away from a great job at Sausalito’s Cetacean Institute, never to be heard from again. Slowly, Melinda begins to put together a picture of the people she had been with - people for whom there is no other searchable data. The only possibility it too far out there to possibly be true. In 2268, Captain James T. Kirk must delve into unknown, and off-limits territory in order to rescue and recover a Federation scientist whose secrets are wanted not only by the Federation, but by the Klingon Empire as well. In 2292, the Klingons, Romulans, and the Federation come together for a joint mission when the Osori, a race so ancient that they consider the other three races 'young.' But the mission begins to unravel when an Osori enjoy is killed and each believes the other is responsible. Author Greg Cox weaves each of these three st...

STAR TREK WEEK  This. Is. Brilliant. In the tradition of the 'Choose your Own Adventure' books comes this riotously funny, often irreverent,  Star Trek: Lower Decks , choose your path, graphic novel. Yeah, that's a lot. Mariner just wants to have a quiet, normal day, but no matter what she does, the universe is on the verge of ending. At least for her and the ship she rode in on. It's Groundhog Day with death and destruction at the end of the wrong paths. But are they all wrong? I can't remember the last time I had so much fun and laughed so much while reading a book. Author Ryan North understands these characters - this really is like watching an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks ! There are a LOT of little moments that really make this shine.  My favorite is probably the talking Spock clock which, like a modern day Alexa, offers to provide useless, random facts: "Once, on Stardate 5341, I survived without a brain for almost 24 hours." "Spock clock,...

STAR TREK WEEK  Why? Why do we need this?  Some might ask why I read this book and that question I can answer.  Aside from being a Star Trek junkie, willing to read anything with the words "Star Trek" on it, I was a little envious of someone getting to watch Star Trek for the first time, and I thought it might be fun to get those reactions. Author Tom Salinsky sets us up with the fact that he's a huge Dr. Who fan but, for various reasons (including the fact that British television didn't always show Star Trek or didn't show all of Star Trek through the years) hadn't watched Star Trek and decided to venture forth on the Trek journey and document it along the way. Great idea, but here's the thing ... if you're new to something, an admit it right out, it's okay to not like it or even pan it, but you really can't be acting like you're one of the 'in' crowd and commenting and making jokes the way long-time fans have.  Reading Redd...

CLASSIC SCI-FI WEEK Richard Ayrault is a major player (a stockholder) with Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company. The company has begun the process of tilting the Earth's axis so that it might be more useful to the most people on the planet. With this already well underway, the adventurous men decide they should travel to some of the other planets in the solar system and see what they might be able to accomplish there. Space travel isn't too difficult with "apergy" - an opposite force to gravity. But first the spaceship needs to be designed and built. Ayrault takes bids - making sure it will have all the essentials ... you know, carpeting and drapes.  And rain gutters on the exterior to capture the rain on Jupiter. Although they will pass Mars, they use the opportunity to take plenty of pictures, rather than making a stop. Once they get to Jupiter they need to make sure there's a breathable atmosphere, and of course the best way to do that is to crack the window....