Book Review: Sons of Star Trek

In the aftermath of Kahless’ harrowing Day of Blood, Jake Sisko struggles to find his place in the universe now that his family has been reunited and his father, Benjamin Sisko, has once again saved the Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Nog faces the challenges of being the first Ferengi in Starfleet and Alexander Rozhenko is recovering mentally and emotionally from his time as one of Kahless’ devout followers. Although his father, Worf, was able to break him away from the Red Path cult, Alexander is haunted by his actions during the bloody coup and is unsure of his ability to atone for the devastation he caused.

Jake, Alexander, and Nog find their stories intertwined as they’re thrust into an alternate reality full of lessons that may be just what the doctor ordered!

Book Review: Star Trek - Picard's Academy vol. 1

Before becoming the Federation’s finest, Jean-Luc was an ordinary student at Starfleet Academy with sights on the stars. His path forward was charted: blow his classmates out of the water on the infamous Evasive Maneuvers exam and graduate early. But there’s a detail Cadet Picard hadn’t factored into his plan: the exam was a group project and he’d need to make friends with, ugh, people if he stood a chance at passing.

Federation starships aren’t run by a party of one, after all. During the training exercise, Picard accidentally puts the lives of himself and two of his classmates—Doq and Marty—in danger!

Book Review: Star Trek-Deep Space Nine: The Dog of War

An extremely rare purebred corgi from Earth makes its way aboard Deep Space 9 when Quark cuts a deal to procure it for a high buyer. After all, a Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all! But Latinum the corgi comes with unexpected cargo that shakes Captain Benjamin Sisko to the core: a Borg component discovered by a crew sent to uncover Cardassian technology after the station’s reoccupation.

Don’t miss out on this exclusive “lost episode” celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fan-favorite show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!

Book Review: Star Trek vol. 1 Godshock

Stardate 2378: A bold new era of Star Trek begins! Three years ago, Benjamin Sisko made a courageous sacrifice that left him trapped in the dimension of the mysterious Prophets; now he's returned to his home universe—with powerful, godlike abilities. But his omnipotence is failing when he needs it most. Someone is killing the gods, and Sisko and the motley crew of the U.S.S. Theseus will have to travel to the deepest parts of space to stop them.

Star Trek: Year Five lead writers Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and artists Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo present a new ship, a new mission, and a lot of old friends! Sisko is joined by Commanders Data and Worf, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, of Star Trek: The Next Generation; Lt. Tom Paris, of Star Trek: Voyager; Captain Montgomery Scott, of Star Trek; and Ben's son, Jake. But there are new faces as well, to surprise established fans while showing new readers the ropes. Collects the prequel short story "A Perfect System" from Star Trek #400 and issues #1–6 of the ongoing series.

Book Review: George's Run

George Clayton Johnson was an up-and-coming short story writer who broke into Hollywood in a big way when he co-wrote the screenplay for Ocean’s Eleven. More legendary works followed, including Logan’s Run and classic scripts for shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. In the meantime, he forged friendships with some of the era’s most visionary science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, Richard Matheson, and Rod Serling.

Later in life, Johnson befriended comics journalist and artist Henry Chamberlain, and the two had long chats about his amazing life and career. Now Chamberlain pays tribute to his late friend in the graphic novel George’s Run, which brings Johnson’s creative milieu to life in vividly illustrated color panels. The result feels less like reading a conventional biography and more like sitting in on an intimate conversation between friends as they recollect key moments in pop culture history, as well as the colorful band of writers known as the “Rat Pack of Science Fiction.”

ST:TNG Turns 20

Wow, it's hard to believe but Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted twenty years ago this month. Where does the time go?

I remember very vividly when this show debuted in September of 1987. I was still back in college in Rochester, right in the middle of my final quarter of my senior year. I was living in an apartment on campus with three other guys - they were all "geeks" like me. We all played Advanced Dungeons and Dragons together every Saturday - just like we had for the past four years. Trek debuted in syndication on a Saturday night, so my roommates had arranged a gathering in the apartment family room with a bunch of other folks from our gaming group to watch the first episode, the two-hour "Encounter At Farpoint". We all thought the first misson seemed a bit lackluster, but the introduction of the new crew, the cameo by DeForrest Kelly, and the introduction of the entity known only as Q made us very interested in seeing more. I am sure the guys continued to discuss the show well into the night while waiting for Dr. Who to come on at 11pm; after the debut show ended I myself got changed to go out to a local club for drinks and dancing (my usual Friday and Saturday night routine in those later years of college).

I thought the show worked on a lot of levels for an 80's viewing audience. Here was a thinking show, a show about diplomacy and tolerance. The Captain Picard wasn't a fighter/lover, as Captain Kirk had been; Picard was much more a problem solver. And he didn't lead every away mission (that job went to Riker, who was more of a Kirk-like lover/fighter). Oh, and this new captain didn't cover up his baldness with a hairpiece. The crew had alien races in it - a Betazoid (Deanna Troi) and a Klingon (Worf) - as well as an android (Data). There were families on the ship, even an annoying know-it-all brainiac son (Wesley) of the ship's female doctor (Beverly Crusher). It definitely had a lot of potential - and that potential would get realized as the show developed and found its actors loosened up a bit and found their groove.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am a fan of the Next Generation. Over the seven years of its first-run, I would watch it pretty faithfully. In fact, of all the Trek franchises it is probably my favorite. I was born a bit late to get a lot out of the first-run of the original Trek series in the 60's, but I recall as a kid watching a lot of the reruns in the 70's. It was pretty much a staple of Saturday afternoon television where I grew up. Later, ST:TNG would spin-off other shows like Deep Space Nine and then Voyager. My wife and I would watch these on occasion - she was a big Voyager fan while I'd more put DSN in my second-place spot. We never did get much into Enterprise though.

ST:TNG also helped revive the lagging sci-fi genre on television which had sort of faded out after the 60's and mid-70's. If it wasn't for this show, we'd not likely have a Sci-Fi Channel today. I think the revival of the Trek franchise on televison opened the door for other successfully syndicated sci-fi and fantasy shows of the 90's and today.

So, take a moment to drop into Ten-Forward, have Guinan serve you a Romulan Ale and drink a toast to the Next Generation.