Tag: Star Trek Discovery

Star Trek: The Last Starship: Volume One by Jackson Lanzin, Collin Kelly and Adrián Bonilla

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in NovelLeave a comment

Publisher: IDW Publishing (Paperback – 8 September 2026)

Series: Star Trek: The Last Starship (2025) – Volume One

Writers: Jackon Lanzing and Collin Kelly

Artist: Adrián Bonilla

Colourists: Heather Moore (Issues #1 to #3), Lee Loughridge (Issues #4 to #6)

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Length: 176 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for a dark new era of Star Trek comics with the intense and compelling first volume of the new series, The Last Starship, which boldly goes into one of the franchises darkest periods with some familiar faces.

I have mentioned in a few posts already that there has been a real resurgence in Star Trek comics in recent years, which has resulted in several impressive and unique series.  This includes the brutal Red Shirts limited series and the start of a fun new Lower Decks series, just to name the ones I’ve had the pleasure of reading.  However, one of the more ambitious Star Trek comics that I have so far come across is The Last Starship, an impressive and inventive new series by the writing team of Jackson Lanzin and Collin Kelly, featuring art by Adrián Bonilla.

It is the 31st century and the United Federation of Planets is made up of worlds and races from across the entire galaxy.  With Starfleet still leading the charge to explore and bring together all worlds, the Federation stands on the brink of its greatest diplomatic feat and the promise of peace throughout the galaxy.  However, one calamitous event will rip apart everything in an instance: The Burn.

Throughout the entire galaxy, nearly every piece of dilithium, the fuel that has driven space travel for generations, mysterious goes inert, resulting in the simultaneous detonation of all technology that utilised it, including the warp cores of every active starship.  As trillions die, no species or organisation is spared from the carnage, including Starfleet, whose entire fleet and crews are destroyed in moments.  With no Starfleet to maintain its security or diplomacy, the Federation and the safe future of the galaxy looks doomed.

However, as the galaxy burns, there are still those who believe.  One of the last remaining Starfleet captains, Delacourt Sato, is determined to keep the ideals of the Federation alive after The Burn and bring hope to its member planets.  To achieve his vision, Sato commissions the U.S.S. Omega, the last active starship Starfleet has.  Fitted with advanced transwarp technology by its unlikely engineer, Queen Agnes Jurati of the Borg Cooperative, the Omega is ready to fly amongst the stars, but there are those who do not want Starfleet to recover.

With no one to oppose them, the Klingon return to their warrior roots and launch a new war against humanity, while back on Earth many humans decide that they no longer want anything to do with the Federation.  As Captain Sato attempts to solve these problems diplomatically and bring together the remnants of the Federation into an effective coalition, he faces problems his years as a peacetime captain cannot contend with.  To succeed, Sato will need a miracle, which Agnes provides by resurrecting a long dead legend, James T. Kirk.  But can even a returned Kirk keep the Federation together when all hope seems lost?

Wow, now that was a spectacular Star Trek comic.  Jackson Lanzin and Collin Kelly pulled together an incredible story in The Last Ship, ably brought to life by the expressive artwork of Adrián Bonilla.  Featuring the first six issues of this new series, this volume of The Last Starship starts off strong and keeps up the carnage the entire way through.  Filled with compelling characters, dark betrayals and an intriguing mixture of Star Trek lore, The Last Starship was a brilliant comic that I had a wonderful time getting through.

I must admit I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with The Last Starship, but I ended up getting blown away by its complexity and surprisingly dark narrative.  Starting off with a very quick introduction to a few new key characters, the first issue of The Last Starship immediately shakes the core of the Star Trek universe by showcasing the galaxy-spanning calamity known as The Burn and its devastating impact on everyone, especially Starfleet.  This was a very memorable start to the series, which Lanzin and Kelly capitalise on by tapping into the inherent hope at the heart of all Star Trek media.  Now following Captain Sato, the plot follows his attempt to inspire the galaxy and the remnants of the Federation by launching a new Starfleet flagship, the U.S S. Omega.  Thanks to the unlikely appearance of Borg Queen Agnes Jurati (from the Picard series), who provides the means for the Omega to travel the stars, Sato’s plan is made possible.  However, that’s not the only crazy thing happening in this first issue, as Lanzin and Kelly make sure to hit the nostalgia button by introducing a resurrected Kirk as one of the series’ main characters, bolstering the new cast.

Following this intense and intriguing start, which contains a lot of big moments that hit some very different Star Trek lore buttons, the plot of this first volume of The Last Starship goes in some powerful directions.  Firstly, because the people in this period apparently haven’t suffered enough, there is a Klingon attack that results in even further carnage.  The comic does an outstanding job showcasing the ineffectiveness of the more peaceable Starfleet of this period, which necessitates the return of Kirk and his experiences as a fighting captain.  The further aftermath of this substantial carnage results in even greater change in the galaxy, which Sato hopes to resolve with a conference on the planet of Babel between representatives from the remaining Federation members.  However, between betrayals, greed and selfish agendas, nothing goes the way you’d expect, starting the trend towards the darker period you later encounter 100 years later during the events of Star Trek: Discovery.

This was honestly a brilliant start to a cool new comic series, which makes full use of its grim themes and a setting centuries away from the main Star Trek shows to tell a truly unique story.  Serving as a compelling prequel to the later seasons of Star Trek Discovery, Lanzin and Kelly pulled together a distinctive story about the unlikely last Starfleet crew attempting to navigate a post-Burn galaxy.  This ended up being a fantastic, character-driven comic, that really tried to show the darker side of the Star Trek universe.  Starting with one massive tragedy, and then showing the various disasters that followed it, readers should be ready for carnage, war, and political upheaval on a level Star Trek fans usually wouldn’t see.  The resulting focus on characters as they attempt to survive this, or are thrust into it against their will, adds some outstanding drama, with all these figures having to make hard or selfish decisions.  While The Last Starship is pretty disaster focused, the authors did try to balance this out by looking at the impacts of hope and principles in trying times.  Watching several characters from various backgrounds and origins continue to try and do the right thing is quite captivating, and it’s hard not to feel for the protagonists as their experiences the extreme lows of the Star Trek universe.

As you would expect from any Star Trek comic, The Last Starship is geared heavily towards established fans of the franchise, and I would say that readers need to have a certain level of knowledge about some of the existing shows to appreciate it.  In particular, The Last Starship serves as a prequel for the last three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and deeply explores the events that led up to the dystopian galaxy showcased in this series.  The full sequences depicting The Burn in this comic happen very early on, and yet they stick with you, not just because of how devastating they are, but because of the last emotional impact they convey.  There are some brilliant scenes in this comic where the full despair of the events and death-toll of The Burn is showcased, including one panel which just shows final messages from various ships (including the Enterprise).  I really loved how effectively the creators of The Last Starship explored the full immediate impacts of The Burn, and it was something different to see the devastation in caused as it happened, rather than 100 years after like in Discovery.

The Last Starship also explores other key plot points covered in Discovery, including the disappearance of the Klingons, the formation of the Emerald Chain and Earth leaving the Federation, all of which cause major drama in this comic.  Aside from needing to have some knowledge of Discovery to appreciate some of the resulting plot points, The Last Starship also features key characters from other televisions series, including the always iconic Kirk, and Agnes from the first two seasons of Picard, after she becomes a Borg queen.  While most general science fiction fans can appreciate the story of Kirk in The Last Starship to a degree, understanding his full history, including his relationship with the Klingons and his previous death, will really add to overall emotional impact of his scenes in this comic.  Throw in a ton of clever references or call-backs to various characters and moments from previous shows, and there is a lot for established Star Trek fans to appreciate.  I recommend it for those in the mood for something a little darker that still has an authentic Star Trek feel to it.

As I have mentioned a few times already, a key reason that The Last Starship is so impactful is that it features several complex characters caught up in the very worst of circumstances.  This includes Captain Delacourt Sato, one of Starfleet’s last surviving captains, who is attempting to bring back hope and the idea of the Federation to the galaxy.  Sato proves to be a compelling and desperate character, with much of his storyline revolving around his attempts to apply hundreds of years of peaceful Federation ideals to a universe that no longer wants them.  As such, Sato experiences a lot of disappointment and heartbreak in this comic, especially when betrayed by those close to him, but it was very compelling to follow a desperate figure who must change to meet the times he is in.

On the other end of the scale is the newly resurrected James T. Kirk, who finds himself in a future where his mentality and experiences are sorely needed.  Once again thrust into a future time he doesn’t understand, Kirk experiences great despair from his very introduction, as he is forced to watch the Federation he helped build get utterly fractured by The Burn.  There are a lot of excellent and palpable emotions burning within Kirk throughout this comic, as his barely controlled anger, inability to connect to a future where he is an icon, and a lot of internal pain constantly come to the surface and lash out at key times, including during the volume’s climactic scene.  Despite this, there is a certain amount of the old-school Kirk in this resurrected figure, as he inspires many, fights everyone, and even hooks up with an alien.  I appreciated this interesting inclusion of one of Star Trek’s most iconic figures into a very different time, and I think that Lanzin and Kelly made the right choice utilising Kirk, rather than someone like Picard or Janeway, whose inclusion would have really changed the tone of the comic.

Aside from Sato and Kirk, The Last Starship featured several other excellent characters, and I really appreciated the range of figures that the creative team introduced and utilised.  Of note was Commander Howie (Wowie) Carter, the first officer of the Omega, a relatively young character who proves himself to be a major badass forced to make some major decisions.  The son of a chief Earth scientist and political leader, Wowie makes the tough decision to stay with Starfleet, which, thanks to some time dilation, means he watches his parents age and die while Earth becomes even more disconnected from the Federation.  The sequences following this time dilation are some of the most emotionally charged in the comic, and it makes you really appreciate Wowie as a character.  Another key character I enjoyed was Doctor Zed (full name: Herculion Sabratash Ork’ver Purple Four Zedacitus), the Ferengi Chief of Medicine aboard the Omega.  Crude, rude and constantly high, Zed is literally the last doctor Starfleet has, and it was entertaining to see him interact with his more reserved crewmates.  Despite this brash outer layer, Zed is eventually showed to be a competent and principled doctor, and he honestly ended up being a favourite protagonist of mine.  Throw in several other intriguing characters who will likely get explored more in future issues, and this first volume of The Last Starship has some amazing characters, who Lanzin and Kelly use to full effect to advance their story.

The final aspect of this volume that I need to talk about is the beautiful and complex artwork that is featured throughout it.  Drawn by artist Adrián Bonilla and enhanced by colourists Heather Moore (for issues #1 to #3), Lee Loughridge (for issues #4 to #6), the art of The Last Starship was quite striking, perfectly showcasing the unique story in several dramatic ways.  Utilising a noir drawing style to match the dramatic tone of the comic are a lot of bold colours, heavy shading and complex depictions throughout this first six issues of the comic, and I loved some of the interesting character designs that the art team utilised.  The characters originating from the 31st century have a distinctive futuristic feel to them, while characters from the older series, such as Kirk, have a bit more of a rugged appearance.  I also need to highlight the incredible large-scale backgrounds, such as planets, buildings, ships and depictions of space that appear throughout the comic.  The artists really capture the scale and complexity of many of these settings, no matter how weird they get.  This includes the Ni’Varran Panoptical Diplomascope, a gravity-defying, multi-ringed construct that was a distinctive backdrop for a key sequence in the plot.  I also felt that the artists excelled in showcasing the big moments of the plot, including brutal starship battles, intense bits of combat in zero gravity, and the entire carnage of The Burn.  The artists don’t hold back in showing the devastation of these events, and you really feel all the action and intense trauma as you view this art, especially with Bonilla’s drawing the despair and sadness of the survivors.  The amazing artwork behind The Last Starship was so damn good, and it brought the complex story to life in all the right ways.

Overall, this first volume of Star Trek: The Last Starship was an amazing and captivating comic, that I had a blast getting through.  The creative team behind The Last Starship produced a powerful character driven story, loaded with interesting bits of Star Trek lore, and backed up by outstanding artwork.  This was an exceptional comic with a darker edge that Star Trek fans are going to love, and I look forward to reading more of The Last Starship as it continues.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read in 2021 but Didn’t Get To

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, participants were required to list their most recent additions to their book collections.  However, due to some upcoming lists that I planned out I am instead mixing things up and instead featuring the top books of 2021 that I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to.

2021 was a great year for novels and I had an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of cool new releases and older novels, which were pretty much all epic and impressive reads.  However, no matter how hard one tries, there are always a couple of books each year that I did not get a chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or from being overwhelmed with other books that I really wanted to read.  As a result, this is a list that is rather tinged with regret, as each book I plan to mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to read.

To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling sounding novels that I did not get a chance to read in the last year.  Each entry was released last year and while I knew that they were coming out, I did not get a chance to read any of them.  In many cases I have these books sitting on my shelf at this moment, silently and constantly judging me, and I think I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares.  I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section.  The final list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres and includes a couple of big 2021 releases I did not get a chance to look at.

Honourable Mentions:

Galaxias by Stephen Baxter

Galaxias Cover

An interesting sounding science fiction novel about the end of the world that would have been fun to check out.

 

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

Keeper of Night (2)

One of the coolest young adult fantasy books I didn’t get to read last year.

 

The Burning by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman

The Burning Cover

I have been really getting into Jonathan Kellerman’s novels lately and I reckon I would have enjoyed this fantastic novel if I had a chance to read it.

 

Star Trek Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack

Star Trek Wonderlands Cover

2021 was a bit of a null year for me when it came to Star Trek fiction as there were several Star Trek great tie-in books I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to.  The one I think I would have enjoyed the most was Wonderlands by Una McCormack that tied into the third season of Star Trek Discovery.

Top Ten List:

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

Empire of the Vampire Cover

One of the books I most regret not reading last year is the epic Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.  Set in a world completely ruled by vampires, this book chronicles the life of a human resistance fighter/vampire hunter.  I have heard some impressive things about Empire of the Vampire, and I really wish I could have read it last year.  Unfortunately, I could not fit it into my reading schedule as it is a pretty massive book with an extensive run time.  I will try extremely hard to read it this year though, especially if Kristoff has sequels planned.

 

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

The Maleficent Seven Cover 2

Another book I deeply regret not reading in 2021 was The Maleficent Seven by the amazing Cameron Johnston.  An intriguing fantasy reversal of classic films like The Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai, The Maleficent Seven follows seven villains as they join forces to defend a village from an army even more evil than them.  I really liked the sound of this book, and I am a big fan of Johnston’s previous novels The Traitor God and God of Broken Things.  As such, I will also make a huge effort to check out The Maleficent Seven this year, and I already know I am going to love it.

 

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

The Noise Cover

James Patterson cowrote several great books in 2021, and while I did manage to enjoy his fun 2 Sisters Detective Agency (cowritten by Australian author Candice Fox), I didn’t get a chance to read his most interesting sounding novel, The Noise.  Cowritten by horror author J. D. Barker, The Noise is a trippy and captivating sounding science fiction thriller set in a remote area of America.  Filled with mysterious science, government conspiracies and a dangerous elemental force, I was deeply intrigued by this novel and I am hoping to read it soon.

 

Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie

Unforgiven Cover

Unforgiven is a powerful Australian thriller about a former victim of a paedophile who hopes to hunt down her abuser.  I heard that this book was pretty epic and intense, and I meant to read it in the last week.  I may try and start it in the next day or so, but I will have to see how I go.

 

The Righteous by David Wragg

The Righteous

Another book that I really regret not reading in 2021 was The Righteous by David Wragg.  The sequel to his impressive debut, The Black Hawks, The Righteous apparently continues his cool dark fantasy storyline about a group of mercenaries caught in the middle of an evil conspiracy.  This is another one I will make a big effort to read soon and I cannot wait to see what happens to the series’ entertaining protagonists next.

 

Gamora and Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee

Gamora and Nebula - Sisters in Arms Cover

An interesting Marvel young adult tie-in by bestselling author Mackenzi Lee, Sisters in Arms was a book I really wanted to read last year, especially after enjoying Lee’s last novel Loki: Where Mischief Lies.

 

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon

Star Wars Visions - Ronin Cover

A fun tie-in to the Star Wars: Visions anime movies, Ronin was one of the few Star Wars books I didn’t read in 2021 and I hope to rectify that oversight soon.

 

The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

The Last Watch Cover

This was apparently one of the best debut novels of 2021 and I really regret not checking it out.  An epic and fascinating science fiction novel about a group of criminals and failures who try to save the universe, The Last Watch got a lot of love from some top reviewers, and I am keen to see how awesome it truly is.

 

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

The Blacktongue Thief Cover

Another major novel that got a lot of love in reviewers circles last years was The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman.  Set to follow an odd couple pairing in a brutal fantasy world, this was apparently an exceptional novel, and it was one that I regret not getting a chance to read.  I might try this year, especially if Buehlman has a sequel on the horizon, and I look forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

 

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick

The Liar's Knot Cover

The final book on this list is The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick, which is the second book in the Rook and Rose series of fantasy novels.  I read the first book in this series, The Mask of Mirrors, earlier in the year, and I really enjoyed its fun and compelling story.  I was hoping to read the sequel in 2021, but I never got the chance, especially as the audiobook version apparently isn’t out yet (I think I’d want to listen to it).  I am hoping to listen to it in a few months’ time, but I’ll have to see how I go.

 

 

Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it.  There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2022, it might take me a little time.  In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2021 in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – 2021 Star Trek Tie-in novels

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I highlight three amazing sounding upcoming Star Trek tie-in novels that I am particularly excited for.

Now, those people familiar with my blog will know that I like a good tie-in novel and I routinely read and review novels and comics that are extensions of several popular fandoms, including Star Wars, Warhammer, and Firefly.  While I have been a major fan of a number of franchises for years, one particular fandom that I have only really gotten into in the last couple of years is Star Trek.  Thanks to some of the recent mainstream Hollywood movies, a flurry of reruns on Australian television and some of the newer shows appearing on Netflix, I have started watching more Star Trek stuff in recent years, and I have quickly gotten drawn into this fun franchise.  For example, last year I ended up probably watching the most Star Trek I ever have, especially with some of the awesome new shows that came out, (I really enjoyed both Picard and Lower Decks).  Unsurprisingly, this increased interest in Star Trek shows and movies has also resulted in me checking out more and more Star Trek novels and even some comics, most of which I have then reviewed on this blog.  Many of these, such as The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett, Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward and the Star Trek: Boldly Go comic by Mike Johnson and Tony Shasteen, have been very impressive reads, and I am now actively trying to find and review any new Star Trek novels that come out.

2021 is shaping up to be another awesome year for Star Trek tie-in fiction, and I have been keeping a keen eye out for several upcoming Star Trek books.  While I still need to check out Star Trek: Picard: The Dark Veil by James Swallow, which came out in January, there are several further books coming out in the next few months that I am quite excited for.  Each of these upcoming books sound pretty cool and I am rather keen to check them out, especially as two have been written by some of my favourite authors of Star Trek fiction.

Star Trek Wonderlands Cover

The first upcoming Star Trek novel that I am looking forward to is Star Trek: Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack.  McCormack is a fantastic author who has written several great Star Trek novels over the years, including a previous Star Trek: Discovery novel, The Way to the Stars, and the first Star Trek: Picard tie-in novel, The Last Best Hope.  I was a particularly fan of The Last Best Hope when it came out last year, especially as it provide an amazing bridge between The Next Generation and Picard television series.  As a result, I am very excited to see this great author’s next novel, especially as it is another Star Trek: Discovery novel.

Synopsis:

In a desperate attempt to prevent the artificial intelligence known as Control from seizing crucial information that could destroy all sentient life, Commander Michael Burnham donned the “Red Angel” time-travel suit and guided the USS Discovery into the future and out of harm’s way. But something has gone terribly wrong, and Burnham has somehow arrived in a place far different from anything she could have imagined—more than nine hundred years out of her time, with Discovery nowhere to be found, and where the mysterious and cataclysmic event known as “the Burn” has utterly decimated Starfleet and, with it, the United Federation of Planets. How then can she possibly exist day-to-day in this strange place? What worlds are out there waiting to be discovered? Do any remnants of Starfleet and the Federation possibly endure? With more questions than answers, Burnham must nevertheless forge new friendships and new alliances if she hopes to survive this future long enough for the Discovery crew to find her….

Wonderlands, which is currently has a release date of 18 May 2021, looks set to follow the protagonist of Star Trek: Discovery, Michael Burham, during the period when she was trapped in the desolate future without her friends.  This setting opens up many plot opportunities and it will be interesting to see what sort of cool story that McCormack comes up with for this book.  Based on her previous novels, I am extremely confident that McCormack will come up with an exciting and compelling read, and I am hopeful that she takes full advantage of the darker story elements of the Star Trek: Discovery series to create something truly memorable.

Star Trek - Shadows Have Offended Cover

The next Star Trek novel that I am looking at in this article is the intriguing Shadows Have Offended by Cassandra Rose Clark, which will tie into The Next Generation television series.  Shadows Have Offended, which is currently set for release on 13 July 2021, will be the first Star Trek novel from Clark, an author I am relatively unfamiliar with, although I have been meaning to check out her young adult Halo series, Battle Born.  Based on the plot details that have been released, Shadows Have Offended will primarily follow Dr Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi and Worf, as they encounter multiple problems during a seemingly routine mission.

Synopsis:

The USS Enterprise has been granted the simple but unavoidable honor of ferrying key guests to Betazed for a cultural ceremony. En route, sudden tragedy strikes a Federation science station on the isolated planet Kota, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard has no qualms sending William Riker, Data, and Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher to investigate. But what begins as routine assignments for the two parties soon descends into chaos: Picard, Worf, and Deanna Troi must grapple with a dangerous diplomatic crisis as historic artifacts are stolen in the middle of a high-profile ceremony… while nothing is as it seems on Kota. A mounting medical emergency coupled with the science station’s failing technology – and no hope of rescue – has Doctor Crusher racing against time to solve a disturbing mystery threatening the lives of all her colleagues…

I quite like the sound of this upcoming The Next Generation novel, especially as Clark has come up with two cool sounding separate storylines, including a medical mystery and a theft, and it will be interesting to see how these come together.  I am also curious to see a novel that focuses more on Crusher and Troi than some of the other Star Trek books I have read in the past and it will be interesting to see this story unfold from their perspective.  Overall, this should turn out to be a great read and I am quite excited to check it out.

Star Trek - Rogue Elements Cover

The final Star Trek novel I am looking at here is the next Picard book, Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller.  Miller is another veteran author who has written several exceptional Star Trek books over the years.  I absolutely loved Miller’s 2020 release, Die Standing, which, with its complex protagonists and clever plot, was easily one of the best Star Trek books of last year.  His next novel, Rogue Elements, is possibly the 2021 Star Trek book I am most excited for, as it will feature one of the best new characters from the Picard show, Cristóbal Rios.

Synopsis:

Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios—until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all went wrong. Aimless and adrift, he grasps at a chance for a future as an independent freighter captain in an area betrayed by the Federation, the border region with the former Romulan Empire. His greatest desire: to be left alone.

But solitude isn’t in the cards for the captain of La Sirena, who falls into debt to a roving gang of hoodlums from a planet whose society is based on Prohibition-era Earth. Teamed against his will with Ledger, his conniving overseer, Rios begins an odyssey that brings him into conflict with outlaws and fortune seekers, with power brokers and relic hunters across the stars.

Exotic loves and locales await—as well as dangers galore—and Rios learns the hard way that good crewmembers are hard to find, even when you can create your own. And while his meeting with Jean-Luc Picard is years away, Rios finds himself drawing on the Starfleet legend’s experiences when he discovers a mystery that began on one of the galaxy’s most important days… 

This sounds like it is going to be particularly impressive Star Trek read and I am looking forward to this book.  As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed the character of Cristóbal Rios, the damaged private starship captain and his crew of emergency holograms, each of them an alternate version of his own personality and distinctive accent, and I am very keen to see a book follow his early exploits.  Rogue Elements also looks to explore some fun crime elements in this darker period of Star Trek history and I love the idea of seeing Rios going up against gangsters, power brokers and relic hunters.  Based on the cool sounding plot, the great source material in Picard and Miller’s outstanding writing history, I know I am going to love Rogue Elements and it should be an awesome read.

As you can see, there are some very cool Star Trek books coming out later this year and I truly believe that I will enjoy all three of the above entries.  Each of these books sounds extremely impressive and I look forward to seeing what unique stories they contain.  I will have to keep an eye out for any addition Star Trek novels later in the year (I know that there is a new Deep Space Nine novel coming out called Revenant, although only limited details are available at this time).  Until then, make sure to check out some of my reviews for other Star Trek novels and let me know which Star Trek tie-in books are your favourites.

Top Ten Tuesday – New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was “Resolutions/Hopes for 2021 (bookish or not!)”, however, I am going to do something a little different and instead I will list the top New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020.  This is actually the official Top Ten Tuesday topic set up for a fortnight’s time, but I have an Australian fiction themed list planned for that week (it falls on Australia Day), so I decided to move this list forward a little.

I am very excited to do this list as each year I am lucky enough to read novels from authors who I was previously unfamiliar with and whose works I really love (make sure check out my 2019 version of the list).  2020 was no exception and throughout last year I had a wonderful time reading a huge range of books from several authors who were completely new to me.  This includes some debuting authors, as well as more established writers whose works I only got around to this year; as long as I had not read anything from them before 2020, they were eligible for this list.  Many of these new-to-me authors produced amazing novels, some of which I consider to be some of the best books released in 2020.  As a result, this list may feature a bit of overlap with my top books and audiobooks lists of 2020 that I have previously published on this blog.

Like many of these lists that I do, I ended up with quite a substantial group of authors that I wanted to include, many of whom produced some fantastic and compelling reads.  I was eventually able to whittle this list down to my top ten favourites, as well as featuring a generous honourable mentions section.  While I did have to exclude a couple of authors whose books I really liked, I think I came up with a good list that represents which authors I am really glad I decided to try for the first time last year.

 

Honourable Mentions:

 

David Wragg – The Black Hawks

The Black Hawks Cover

 

John Jackson Miller – Star Trek Discovery: Die Standing

Die Standing Cover

 

Jeremy Szal – Stormblood

Stormblood Cover

 

Steve Parker – Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker

Deathwatch Shadowbreaker Cover

 

Top Ten List:

 

Luke Arnold – The Last Smile in Sunder City and Dead Man in a Ditch

Luke Arnold Covers

The first author that I am going to feature on this list is Luke Arnold, who had an impressive debut earlier this year with The Last Smile in Sunder City, a great urban fantasy novel set in dark city where magic has suddenly and traumatically died.  Arnold managed to complete two novels this year, and with the sequel, Dead Man in a Ditch, did an awesome job following up from the first book.  I look forward to seeing how this series continues in the future, and Arnold is a great new author that I was glad I tried out.

 

Nick Martell – The Kingdom of Liars

The Kingdom of Liars Cover

There was no way I could do this list without featuring Nick Martell, who debuted in early 2020 with The Kingdom of Liars, an outstanding fantasy novel that was extremely impressive.  Not only was The Kingdom of Liars one of the best debuts of 2020 but it was also one of my favourite books of the entire year.  I had an incredible time reading this cool novel and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel, The Two-Faced Queen, which is set for release in a couple of months.

 

Richard Osman – The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club Cover

Another exciting new author I checked out in 2020 was British comedian and television personality Richard Osman, who debuted with the clever and hilarious crime fiction novel, The Thursday Murder Club.  This was an amazing first novel from Osman, and I am now deeply invested in checking out any future novels from him, especially the sequel to The Thursday Murder Club planned for later this year.

 

Jim Butcher – Battle Ground

Battle Ground Cover

I have been meaning to read one of legendary fantasy author Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novels for ages now, and this was the year I finally took the plunge by listening to the latest entry in the series, Battle Ground.  Battle Ground was an epic thrill ride that I had an incredible time listening to and which served as an intriguing introduction to the series for me.  I think that I will try to listen to several earlier entries in this awesome series this year, and I look forward to seeing how the initial adventures turn out.

 

Jeff Lindsay – Just Watch Me

Just Watch Me Cover

I was quite intrigued when I heard that Jeff Lindsay, the author of the iconic Dexter thrillers, was writing a series that focused on epic heists, and I ended up grabbing a copy of the first book, Just Watch Me.  Just Watch Me was a fantastic and captivating read, and I just started reading the sequel, Fool Me Twice, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

 

Mark Lawrence – The Girl and the Stars

The Girl and the Stars 2

High acclaimed fantasy author Mark Lawrence is another author who I have had my eye on for several years but never had a chance to read before.  However, when Lawrence released the first entry in a brand-new series last year, I decided to check it out, and boy was I glad that I did.  The Girl and the Stars was an impressive and captivating novel set deep beneath the ice of a desolate planet that I had an amazing time reading.  I am eagerly looking forward to the next entry in this series, and I will have to go back and read some of Lawrence’s earlier books.

 

Sarah Beth Durst – Race the Sands

Race the Sands Cover

I have mentioned quite a few times this year how much I deeply enjoyed the latest novel from Sarah Beth Durst, Race the Sands, which was the first book I checked out from this bestselling author.  Race the Sands was an outstanding novel filled with cool action, creative fantasy elements and great characters, I had an excellent time getting through it.  Due to how much I loved my first Durst novel, I am planning to read some more of her books soon, starting with The Bone Maker, which is coming out in a couple of months.

 

Max Brooks – Devolution

Devolution Cover

Another major author who I finally got around to checking out this year was Max Brooks, who produced the thrilling and exciting horror novel Devolution, which sees a small village attacked by sasquatches.  This was an excellent and amazing novel that was so much fun to read and I fully plan to check out Brooks’ other big book, World War Z soon.

 

Mike Shackle – We are the Dead

We are the Dead Cover

I heard some really good things about Mike Shackle’s 2019 debut, We are the Dead, when it first came out, and I really regretted not reading it then.  I decided to remedy this last year when I grabbed the audiobook version of this book, which turned out to be a captivating and fantastic read.  I had an amazing time reading We are the Dead and I cannot wait to check out the sequel, A Fool’s Hope, which just came out.

 

John Scalzi – Redshirts

Redshirts Cover

The final entry on this list was the clever and wildly entertaining Star Trek parody Redshirts by bestselling science fiction author John Scalzi.  Scalzi is an author whose books I have been thinking of checking out for a while, and when I had a long road trip earlier in the year I took the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of this extremely funny novel which was narrated by Wil Wheaton.  I was not disappointed, as Redshirts ended up being an excellent novel that presents a hilarious parody of classic Star Trek tropes and was an insane amount of fun.

 

Well, that’s the end of this latest Top Ten list.  I think it turned out rather well and it encapsulates some of the best new authors I checked out in 2020.  I look forward to reading more books from these authors in the future and I have no doubt they will produce more epic and incredible reads.  Make sure to let me know which new authors you enjoyed in 2020 in the comments below and make sure to check back next week for another exciting list.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Audiobooks of 2020

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List105 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants needed to list the top ten books they hoped that Santa would bring them, however, I am going to do a slightly different topic.  As we are nearing the end of 2020, I have decided to once again produce a series of lists that highlight my favourite books for the year, judged by several different criteria.  I have previously listed my Top Ten Pre-2020 novels I read this year and now I am going to focus on something else, my Top Ten Favourite Audiobooks of 2020.

Readers of my blog only need to check out my extensive audiobook category to know that I have a lot of love for the audiobook format.  In my opinion, the audiobook is often the best way to experience a good book, and in many cases this format makes a book more enjoyable for me.  As a result, I listened to quite a few audiobooks this year, and while several of them are books that had been released before 2020 and featured in my Throwback Thursday posts, a large majority of them were released this year.  There were some outstanding audiobook adaptions this year, and while I had a few books to choose from, I was eventually able narrow my absolute favourites down to a top ten list.

For this list I have only included audiobooks released in 2020 that I have listened to and completed, so I am excluding a few books that probably had some great audiobook productions (for example, I am sure that audiobooks of The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett or Devolution by Max Brooks were amazing, but I ended up reading a physical copy of them instead).  While all of the books that made the top ten are outstanding novels, I have tried to take overall audiobook production into account while choosing my list.  Each of the books that I included below had great narrators and I think that for most of these novels the audiobook format actually enhanced the story and helped me enjoy the book even more.  I am extremely happy with how this list eventually turned out (with my typical extended honourable mentions section), and I had an amazing time coming up with this latest Top Ten article.

 

Honourable Mentions:

 

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion

The Salvage Crew Cover


House of Earth and Blood, written by Sarah J. Maas and narrated by Elizabeth Evans

House of Earth and Blood Cover


Star Trek: Discover: Die Standing, written by John Jackson Miller and narrated by January LaVoy

Die Standing Cover

I was also strongly tempted to use Star Trek: Picard: Last Best Hope, but I felt that Die Standing had a stronger and more exciting story that worked well with the audiobook format.


Song of the Risen God, written by R. A. Salvatore and narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

Song of the Risen God Cover

Top Ten List:


Battle Ground, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters

Battle Ground Cover


The Thursday Murder Club, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville

The Thursday Murder Club Cover


Harrow the Ninth, written by Tamsyn Muir and narrated by Moira Quirk

Harrow the Ninth Cover


Race the Sands, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Emily Ellet

Race the Sands Cover


Into the Fire, written by Gregg Hurwitz and narrated by Scott Brick

Into the Fire


Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Sarah Kuhn and narrated by a full cast

Doctor Aphra Audio Cover

While a couple of other 2020 Star Wars tie-in novels did have more compelling or original stories, I felt that the combination of the fun adapted narrative in this audio drama and the excellent full voice cast made Doctor Aphra the best Star Wars audiobook of the year.


The Trouble With Peace, written by Joe Abercrombie and narrated by Steven Pacey

The Trouble with Peace Cover


Ink, written by Jonathan Maberry and narrated by Ray Porter

Ink Cover


The Kingdom of Liars, written by Nick Martell and narrated by Joe Jameson

The Kingdom of Liars Cover


One Minute Out, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder

One Minute Out Cover

 

Well that is the end of this latest Top Ten list.  All of the above novels are extremely good, and I would highly recommend each of them in their audiobook format.  There is still time for me to listen to a few more great audiobooks this year, and I am planning to listen to either A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle or Cyber Shogun Revolution by Peter Tieryas next.  Let me know what your favourite audiobooks of 2020 were in the comments below, and I might try and check them out.

WWW Wednesday – 18 November 2020

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski (Trade Paperback)

The Tower of Fools Cover

From the mind of Andrzej Sapkowski, best-selling author of The Witcher novels, comes the first English translation of his 2002 release, The Tower of Fools.  This is an interesting novel that blends together Eastern European historical fiction with some curious fantasy elements.  I am about 100 pages in at the moment and so far it is quite an intriguing read.  Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne (Audiobook)

The Salvage Crew Cover

The Salvage Crew is a fantastic science fiction adventure novel that I decided to quickly check out this week, mainly because it was narrated by Nathan Fillion.  The book follows a small salvage crew (bet you didn’t get that from the title) who head to an alien planet to do a routine salvage of a crashed ship, right before things get really complicated for them.  I am making some good progress with this audiobook and should hopefully finish it off in a day or two.  So far it is a pretty awesome story and I am really enjoying it.

What did you recently finish reading?

Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing by John Jackson Miller (Audiobook)

Die Standing Cover

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly (Trade Paperback)

The Law of Innocence Cover

The Queen’s Captain by Peter Watt (Trade Paperback)

The Queen's Captain Cover

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell (Audiobook)

The Kingdom of Liars Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon (Hardcover)

Firefly Generations

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing by John Jackson Miller

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel12 Comments

Die Standing Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (Audiobook – 14 July 2020)

Series: Star Trek: Discovery

Length: 12 hours and 15 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon     Book Depository

One of the leading authors of media tie-in fiction, John Jackson Miller, returns with his second Star Trek: Discovery novel, Die Standing, an awesome and captivating read that follows the adventures of an excellent protagonist, the evil version of Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou.

After the dramatic conclusion of the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, former ruler of the Terran Empire, a power-hungry and xenophobic human interstellar empire from a twisted alternate universe, has been stranded in the main Federation’s universe.  Biding her time while trapped on the Klingon home planet of Qo’noS, Georgiou is finally given a the opportunity she has been waiting for when Starfleet’s covert spy organisation, Section 31, offers her a chance to work as one of their agents.  However, Georgiou is far more interested in gaining her freedom and plotting to use Section 31’s resources to flee beyond Starfleet’s control.

Georgiou’s plans change when she receives news about a mysterious attack on one of Starfleet’s military vessels by a malicious and dangerous cosmic entity, one that her counterpart in this universe may have seen years before.  Intrigued by the description of the attack, Georgiou decides to remain with Section 31, especially as it bears a striking similarity to a powerful superweapon that was kept from her when she was Emperor.

Determined to use this weapon to regain her stolen power and take control of this weaker universe, Georgiou accepts Section 31’s proposal to travel to an isolated section of space where the creature was first witnessed.  Travelling with two mismatched minders who are already well out of their depth, Georgiou attempts to contact an old flame of this universe’s Georgiou, one who has a lot of influence in this quadrant of space.  Forced to conduct a subtle investigation amongst the secretive alien races of the sector, Georgiou and her companions follow the clues that will lead them to the entities they seek.  But what will happen when the former Terran Emperor has ultimate power within her grasp?  Will she ensure the safety of the Federation she despises, or will another universe bow before her might?

This was a fun and impressive new novel from bestselling author John Jackson Miller.  Miller is an interesting author who has a lot of experience writing tie-in stories, having previously written several pieces of Star Wars fiction as well as some notable Star Trek novels.  I have not previously read anything from Miller before, although I think that will have to change due to how much I enjoyed Die Standing.  Miller has written a couple of books that have been on my radar for a bit, including a previous Star Trek: Discovery novel, The Enterprise War, and the Star Wars: A New Dawn novel, which ties into the Star Wars: Rebels animated show.  This latest novel from Miller is an exceptional read, as he has come up with a wildly entertaining and clever novel based around the excellent character of Philippa Georgiou.  Backed up with an extremely compelling story, some interesting side characters and some wonderful universe-building, this is one of the better if not the best Star Trek novels of 2020, and ended up being an awesome read.

At the heart of this fantastic novel is a captivating and intense narrative that sees the protagonist and her companions venture into an unknown area of space in search of a creature with deadly potential.  This was an extremely clever and well-written character-driven story that features an excellent Star Trek narrative, filled with all manner of espionage, betrayal and war.  I really liked the way that the author blended together familiar Star Trek elements with a thrilling espionage narrative, especially one that was centred on a morally ambiguous protagonist who plans to betray everyone she encounters.  This makes for a number of great scenes, and I really liked the fascinating and clever places that the story went.  There are a number of particularly good twists featured throughout the book, and while I was able to predict where some parts of the story were going to go, I found myself pleasantly surprised and intrigued at some of the other reveals.  I also enjoyed the way in which Miller worked in some compelling comparisons between the two mirror universe, one mostly good and the other mostly evil, and it served as a clever and distinctive part of the book, especially as Miller does a lot with only one scene set in the Terran universe.  All of this makes for an exciting and powerful story that readers are going to have a wonderful time reading.  I really enjoyed the dark, thrilling and twist laden narrative and it honestly did not take me long to become hopeless addicted to this incredible Star Trek novel.

Die Standing is one of those tie-in novels that require some prior knowledge of its associated content to fully enjoy.  In this case, readers really do need to have a good understanding of the Star Trek: Discovery television show, as much of the story is derived from key events in the first and second seasons.  In particular, knowing the full tale around the character of Philippa Georgiou (both versions) is quite essential to fully appreciate the book’s story elements and character work.  At the very least, having some general knowledge of the Star Trek universe and the events of some of the shows would be useful, especially as the book is fairly dependent on some established story elements, such as the evil alternate universe.  That being said, Miller does do a really good job making this novel accessible to those readers whose knowledge of the genre might be lacking, and many of the key elements are explained in sufficient detail to follow the story and enjoy it.  However, this is definitely a novel most suitable for established Star Trek fans, especially as the author loads it up with a ton of fun or clever references to Star Trek: Discovery and some of the other television shows.  For example, this novel features the great inclusion of a younger version of the Dax symbiont (see more below), and I personally really liked how a major part of the book’s plot revolved around a key moment from Captain Kirk’s backstory (from The Original Series episode Obsession), not only showing the event from a different perspective, but also adding in some explanation for its origins and the reaction from Starfleet.  Die Standing also serves as a rather good bridge between the first and second seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, and it does an excellent job setting up the main character for her reintroduction to the show.

While this book did have an exceptionally captivating story and some cool Star Trek elements, the absolute highlight of this book has to be its wonderful protagonist (and occasional antagonist), the evil Terran version of Philippa Georgiou.  Die Standing features Georgiou in all her evil glory and she quickly makes an impression of the reader, especially after one particularly brutal and entertaining prison break sequence at the start of the book.  Pretty much every scene that features Georgiou is highly entertaining, and the snarky, arrogant personality she displays to anyone she meets proves to be spot on to how she is portrayed in the television show.  While I really enjoyed this character in Star Trek: Discovery (she is easily one of the best parts of the show) I personally felt that Miller actually helped to make Georgiou an even more compelling character throughout the course of this book.  The author really dives down into her personality and motives, showing just how twisted and self-serving she can be while also reflecting on all the things she has lost and the changes she is forced to deal with.  Georgiou goes through some fascinating self-examinations in Die Standing, especially when she is confronted with the legacy of her dead counterpart in this universe, and this serves as a fantastic emotional centre of the book.  The author’s impressive use of this fantastic character works extremely well, and it certainly helps Die Standing stand out from some of the other Star Trek novels of 2020.

Die Standing also features an excellent cast of side characters who add a lot to the story.  There are two characters who particularly stand out, Emony Dax and Sean Finnigan, who both serve as alternate protagonists, with significant parts of the book told from their perspective.  While Dax and Finnigan are nowhere near as dynamic as Georgiou, they are both distinctive in their own ways, and Miller does a good job at making them both likeable and compelling parts of Die Standing.  Emony is a young Trill gymnast who is the third host of the Dax symbiont.  This makes her an earlier incarnation of the Dax character who appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television in two different guises (Jadzia Dax and Ezri Dax).  Thanks to her youth, both as a symbiont and a host, this version of Dax is a little more unsure and scared then her later counterparts, but is determined thanks to the terrible things she witnesses at the start of the book.  While she is initially extremely cowed by Georgiou’s overwhelming personality, Dax grows throughout the book and is eventually able to influence Georgiou.  Deep Space Nine fans will no doubt enjoy seeing this earlier version of Dax, and I rather appreciated the excellent character growth she experienced.  The other main character, Sean Finnigan, is definitely one of the more entertaining characters in this book.  Finnigan is an unashamedly Irish character who serves as the book’s comic relief.  A wild and unruly former Star Fleet officer, Finnigan is drafted into the mission due to an interesting connection he has to Georgiou, as a murderous, brainwashed version of himself served as the Emperor’s assassin in the mirror universe.  While Finnigan is a mostly entertaining character, joking, drinking and socialising with all everyone he meets, there are some deeper elements to his character, especially as he spends a good part of the book trying to balance his real personality with the more insane version of himself that Georgiou tries to bring out.  Dax and Finnigan form a compelling team with Georgiou, and they ended up being an extremely good trio the anchor the story around.

I also quite enjoyed the intriguing Star Trek universe-building that Miller featured throughout Die Standing.  A key part of this book’s story is set within an isolated section of space that is home to three distinctive alien races who are attempting to stay separate from the Federation.  All of these species are quite intriguing and inventive, and include a race of giant living spindles, an intensely warlike species of living tanks and a group of gaseous psychics.  Miller does an exceptional job exploring each of the three new alien species throughout the course of the book and giving them each unique characteristics, histories, and personalities.  Not only are these aliens quite fascinating in their own right but each of their specific traits plays into the overall story extremely well, with some fantastic twists tied into them.  In addition, Miller also spends time exploring some of the differences between the main Star Trek universe and the mirror universe that contained the Terran Empire.  Not only is there an excellent opening sequence set in this mirror universe that showcases the brutal nature of this alternate reality, but there are a number of fantastic discussions that examine how different these universes could be.  Miller ensures that the protagonist Georgiou spends a good amount of time recounting some of the horrifying details of her universe to her companions (mostly to unnerve them), and it proves quite entertaining to hear all of her various stories, especially as most are apparently not exaggerated.  I also loved the fun way that Miller altered famous historical quotes to show how different the universes could be, with a number of classic lines twisted into something far more brutal and cynical, such as “Let them eat field rations” from General Antoinette.  The book itself is also broken up into five separate sections, based upon the Terran stages of grief (for coping with a loss of status): defiance, murder, plundering, destruction and vengeance, with each sections starting up with a quote from the Terran universe that describe its history.  Needless to say that Star Trek fans are going to love the cool additions that Miller works into the expanded universe in this novel, and I personally had a wonderful time seeing all the inventive and entertaining things that the author could come up with.

Like most of the Star Trek books I have had read in the past, I chose to check out Die Standing’s audiobook format.  This was, as always, an excellent way to enjoy this clever Star Trek novel, and I had a wonderful time listening to the story unfold.  Die Standing has a run time of 12 hours and 15 minutes, which is actually the longest Star Trek audiobook that I have so far listened to, but I was still able to breeze through it in relatively short order once I got hooked on the story.  In order to tell this amazing book, Die Standing makes use of the vocal talents of narrator January LaVoy.  This is the first audiobook I have heard narrated by LaVoy, although she did voice a minor character in Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost.  She has also served as narrator for several books I have physically read, such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, Star Wars: Last Shot and The Night Swim, and she has also narrated a couple of books I am hoping to checking out in the future, including Star Wars: Phasma.  I have to admit that I was initially a little thrown to have LaVoy as narrator, as this was the first Star Trek audiobook I have listened to that was not narrated by Robert Petkoff.  However, it makes a lot more sense to feature LaVoy as narrator due to the female lead, and I really enjoyed listening to her narration of this book.  LaVoy did an incredible job bringing the characters to life throughout Die Standing and she ascribed some very apt and distinctive voices to each of them.  I was particularly impressed with the fantastic voice she utilised for Philippa Georgiou, and I felt it was very similar to how the character was portrayed in the television show.  LaVoy makes sure to channel all of Georgiou’s scorn and sarcasm to the reader, and it was an absolute treat to listen to her villainous rants throughout the book.  I also quite enjoyed the voice that LaVoy utilised for Sean Finnigan, Irish accent included, and it helped to enhance him as a fun and entertaining character.  All of this leads to quite an exceptional Star Trek audiobook and I would strongly recommend this format to anyone interested in checking out Die Standing.

Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing is an amazing and impressive Star Trek novel from John Jackson Miller that was an absolute joy to read.  Miller has crafted together a captivating and clever narrative for this book that follows several excellent protagonists on a high-stakes adventure through all manner of intrigue and betrayal.  Featuring some compelling story elements, fantastic world-building and an awesome evil protagonist, Die Standing was an exceptional novel and it ended up being one of my favourite Star Trek novels I have so far had the pleasure to read.  A highly recommend piece of tie-in fiction, fans of the Star Trek: Discovery television show really need to check this fantastic book as soon as possible.

Amazon     Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 4 November 2020

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing by John Jackson Miller (Audiobook)

Die Standing Cover

I was in the mood for a good tie-in novel so I thought I would check out this intriguing Star Trek: Discovery novel.  Die Standing is an extremely fun and well-written novel that follows a dark protagonist on a dangerous and unique espionage mission.  This is one of the best Star Trek novels of 2020 and I am really enjoying listening to it. I have made some good progress on this book and should finish it off in the next couple of days.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (Hardcover)

The Evening and the Morning Cover

I just finished reading this book a little while ago and boy was it a good read. I’m hoping to get a review for this book up soon but it is really worth checking out.

Assault by Fire by Lt. Col. H. Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC (Audiobook)

Assault by Fire Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly (Trade Paperback)

The Law of Innocence Cover

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Waiting on Wednesday – Upcoming Star Trek Novels

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday8 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday entry, I look at three fantastic sounding Star Trek novels that are coming out in the next couple of months.

Over the last year or so I have found myself really getting into Star Trek tie-in fiction, mainly because I’ve been watching some of the superb television shows like Discovery and Picard. The Star Trek expanded fiction range is truly impressive in its scope and popularity, and they have produced a massive number of entertaining books and comics over the years. I have been lucky enough to pick up and read some rather excellent examples of Star Trek expanded fiction in the last year or so, including Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack, The Antares Maelstrom by Greg Cox and The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett, just to name a few. They have all been rather fantastic tie-in novels, and I am looking forward to reading more Star Trek novels in the future. There are actually several exciting-sounding Star Trek books coming out in the next few months, and I need to pick up the recent release, The High Frontier by Christopher L. Bennett. However, for this article, I am going to look at the next three Star Trek books that are coming out.

The Unsettling Stars Cover

The first is The Unsettling Stars by Alan Dean Foster, which is set for release in two weeks’ time on 14 April 2020. The Unsettling Stars is first entry in a new series of novels set in the Kelvin timeline of the Star Trek universe, the alternate timeline that occurred in the 2009 Star Trek film. There have been some rather good pieces of fiction in this timeline of the Star Trek universe, including a particularly enjoyable comic book series, so I am looking forward to seeing how The Unsettling Stars unfolds.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Taking place in an alternate timeline created when the Starship Kelvin was destroyed by a Romulan invader from the future, this bold new novel follows Captain James T. Kirk and an inexperienced crew commandeering a repaired U.S.S. Enterprise out of spacedock for a simple shakedown cruise. When a distress call comes in, the Enterprise must aid a large colony ship of alien refugees known as the Perenorean, who are under siege by an unknown enemy. But Kirk and his crew will find that the situation with the peaceful Perenorean is far more complicated than they bargained for, and the answers as to why they were attacked in the first place unfold in the most insidious of ways…

Agents of Influence Cover

The second book in this article is Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward, which contains an extremely intriguing and compelling plot synopsis. Agents of Influence, which will be released in early June 2020, is set during the events of The Original Series and will follow the classic crew of the Enterprise. I read one of Ward’s books last year, Available Light, which turned out to be a rather amazing tie-in to The Next Generation television show. I am particularly interested in checking out Agents of Influence, and I really like the novels cool premise which will see classic Star Trek characters and ideals clash with a dark spy thriller.

Goodreads Synopsis:

For years, Starfleet Intelligence agents have carried out undercover assignments deep within the Klingon Empire. Surgically altered and rigorously trained in Klingon culture, they operate in plain sight and without any direct support, while collecting information and infiltrating the highest levels of imperial power. Their actions have given Starfleet valuable insight into the inner workings of Klingon government and its relentless military apparatus.

After three of Starfleet’s longest serving agents fear exposure, they initiate emergency extraction procedures. Their planned rendezvous with the USS Endeavour goes awry, threatening to reveal their activities and the damaging intelligence they’ve collected during their mission. Tasked by Starfleet to salvage the botched rescue attempt, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise must discover the truth behind a secret weapons experiment while avoiding an interstellar incident with the potential to ignite a new war between the Federation and one of its oldest adversaries.

Die Standing Cover

Last, but certainly not least, is Die Standing by John Jackson Miller, a tie-in novel to Star Trek: Discovery, which is set for release in mid-July 2020. Despite being a relatively new Star Trek show, there have already been a number of fun and clever tie-in books associated with Discovery, including last year’s release, The Way to the Stars by Una McCormack. However, Die Standing sounds particularly fun, as it features the evil alternate universe version of Philippa Georgiou, former ruler of the Terran Empire, as she runs amok in the main Star Trek universe. This one sounds like it is going to be a rather interesting spy thriller, and I look forward to seeing the events that brought the evil Philippa into the fold of Section 31.

Goodreads Synopsis:

No one in the history of histories has lost more than Philippa Georgiou, ruler of the Terran Empire. Forced to take refuge in the Federation’s universe, she bides her time until Section 31, a rogue spy force within Starfleet, offers her a chance to work as their agent. She has no intention of serving under anyone else, of course; her only interest is escape.

But when a young Trill, Emony Dax, discovers a powerful interstellar menace, Georgiou recognizes it as a superweapon that escaped her grasp in her own universe. Escorted by a team sent by an untrusting Federation to watch over her, the emperor journeys to a region forbidden to travellers. But will what she finds there end the threat—or give “Agent Georgiou” the means to create her old empire anew?

As you can see from the above entries, there are some pretty awesome-sounding Star Trek novels on the horizon. Each of these three upcoming books sounds really cool in their own way, and I am looking forward to reading all of them. This is honestly only the tip of the Star Trek tie-in iceberg for 2020, but I have extremely high hopes for these next three books, and I cannot wait to see how they turn out.

Star Trek Discovery: The Way To The Stars by Dr Una McCormack

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel9 Comments

Star Trek Discovery - The Way To The Stars Cover

Publisher: Gallery Books (Trade Paperback Format – 8 January 2019)

Series: Star Trek Discovery – Book 4

Length: 276 pages

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

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Get ready to dive into the extended Star Trek universe with The Way To The Stars, the latest tie-in novel to the franchise’s current show, Star Trek Discovery.

While most people would be familiar with the iconic Star Trek television shows and movies, some may be unaware that there is an extremely rich and extensive Star Trek universe across a variety of different media formats.  This is particularly true when it comes to the vast number of Star Trek novels which utilise the franchise’s massive universe.  Since 1967, during the run of the original Star Trek television series, a bevy of authors have contributed to this extended universe by creating a huge number of novels made up a range of different series and publishers.  There are now over 840 Star Trek novels, not only complementing the various Star Trek movies and television shows but also creating a series of new adventures.

With the announcement of the latest Star Trek television show, Star Trek Discovery, in late 2017, a new series of related novels was commissioned for release around the same time.  This new series focused on several of the characters featured within Star Trek Discovery, providing intriguing character history and a series of new, exciting adventures.  The first book in this series, Desperate Hours, was released in 2017, days after the premier episode of Star Trek Discovery.  These books have so far covered several of the show’s key characters, including Michael Burnham, Saru, Gabriel Lorca and Philippa Georgiou, while a fifth book out later this year will focus on Christopher Pyke and the original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.  I actually have a copy of the second book in this series, Drastic Measures, on my bookshelf at home, and I have been intending to read it for some time.  I will hopefully get to that, and the other books in the Star Trek Discovery book range, at some point in the future.

I have to admit that I am more of a casual Star Trek fan and I have more of a preference for Star Wars (and with that, I lose several Trekkies reading this review).  That being said, I have watched a number of the movies and I am really enjoying Star Trek Discovery at the moment.  This book is the first actual Star Trek novel that I have had the pleasure of reading, and there are several cool-sounding upcoming Star Trek novels that I am probably going to try and check out.

The Way To The Stars focuses on the character of Sylvia Tilly, the young, brilliant and awkward Starfleet cadet and essential member of the U.S.S. Discovery’s crew.  However, when she was 16, years before she joined Starfleet, her life was going down a different path.  The daughter of a high-ranking United Federation of Planets (the Federation) diplomat, Tilly finds herself under intense pressure to succeed.  Forced by her domineering mother to abandon her love of science and engineering to pursue a career as a diplomat, Tilly is shipped off to an elite off-world boarding school.

Forced out of her comfort zone, and continuously micromanaged by her mother, Tilly begins to crack under the pressure until, for the first time in her life, she rebels.  Escaping the school and embarking on a dangerous off-world trip, Tilly seeks her own path in life, which will eventually lead her join Starfleet and adventure out into the stars.

The Way To The Stars is the fourth entry in the Star Trek Discovery book series, and it is written by veteran science fiction and tie-in novel author, Dr Una McCormack.  Dr McCormack is an expert when it comes to the novelisation of popular science fiction television shows, having written a number of Doctor Who tie-in novels throughout her career.  Dr McCormack also has a large amount of experience when it comes to the Star Trek extended universe, having authored several novels that continue the adventures of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine television series.

This book was a little different to what I anticipated it would be.  Rather than featuring an action-packed adventure with Starfleet like the previous books in the Star Trek Discovery series, The Way To The Stars mainly focused on Tilly’s school and family life.  While this was still a very interesting and enjoyable read, I kept expecting pirates, aliens or some sort of antagonist to drop in and take over the school, forcing Tilly to use the engineering skills that her mother and school friends were so dismissive of to save the day.  So it was a tad disappointing to find this book only contained a mostly school-based story, more concerned with Tilly’s studies, her overbearing mother and her problems making friends.  Do not get me wrong; there are a lot of fun and enjoyable elements to these parts of the story, and the later part of the book in which Tilly runs away from school and tries to make her own way in space are very interesting.  It was, however, somewhat lighter than what I was expecting from a Star Trek novel, and its tone and writing style reminded me more of a young adult school novel.

That said, this was still a very enjoyable novel as Dr McCormack does an amazing job of bringing one of Star Trek Discovery’s most entertaining characters to life while placing her in a fun and interesting coming of age story.  The author makes great use of the Star Trek elements to tell her story, and I found it fascinating to see the advanced interplanetary schooling (rich boarding schools are rich boarding schools no matter what planet they are on), as well as Tilly’s adventures on human planets and ships outside of Federation space.  The latter parts of the book set on the Starfleet ship were fun, and it was great to see the adventures of a scientific ship, as well as Tilly’s contributions to their voyage.  The resultant first contact that they make was interesting, and it was cool to see elements from the part of the story set in the school come into play during this bit.  Overall, I did have a lot of fun reading The Way To The Stars, and found it to be a very well-written story with a lot of intriguing elements to it.  I really got into the story and managed to read it in only a couple of days, so many people should have fun reading it.

One of the things that I did like about The Way To The Stars was the way the author brought the book’s main character, Tilly, to life.  Within Star Trek Discovery, Tilly, as portrayed by Mary Wiseman, is a fun, brilliant and neurotic character who serves as the show’s moral centre and heart.  Despite mostly being a kind and thoughtful person, Tilly is regularly able to take control of a situation and act in a command capacity, often with humorous results.  I felt that Dr McCormack’s portrayal of Tilly within this book did an excellent job of either showing that these were already existing qualities/personality traits or else examined the first time that Tilly ever showcased these traits.  It was really good to see where Tilly came from and the sort of influences she had in her life to turn her into the character that is so beloved in the show.  As a result, The Way To The Stars is an excellent coming of age story, and I really enjoyed the way that the author wrote the character within the book.

This book is strongly related to the Star Trek Discovery television show; however, I do not believe that too much pre-existing knowledge or fandom experience is required to enjoy The Way To The Stars.  Dr McCormack has an inclusive writing style and I believe that anyone with even a basic knowledge of Star Trek will be able to pick this book up and enjoy the fun story within.  It should go without saying, though, that those people who are fans of the Star Trek universe will get a lot more out of this story.  This is especially true for fans of Star Trek Discovery, who will appreciate this deeper dive into the protagonist’s backstory and the examination of her early life.  I believe that The Way To The Stars is considered to be a canon story within the Star Trek universe; however, I doubt that the events within will have any impact on the show.  Still, it is quite an interesting inclusion that will really interest those who have come to enjoy the characters of Star Trek Discovery.

Star Trek Discovery: The Way To The Stars is a fun and enjoyable tie-in novel that does an amazing job of examining the past of a key character of the show.  Dr McCormack creates an interesting coming-of-age story that will appeal to hardcore Trekkies and casual science fiction readers alike.  I quite enjoyed my first foray into the Star Trek extended universe, and I am planning to try and get some of other Star Trek books coming out later this year.  Stay tuned to see me go further beyond the final frontier.

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