It's been a busy few months on the Star Trek fiction front, with a special emphasis, not surprisingly, on the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew as they celebrated their 20th anniversary in September.

"The Buried Age" Christopher L. Bennett
We started off in July with Christopher L. Bennett's tale of "The Lost Era." This was a term originally applied to a group of six novels set between the prologue of "Star Trek Generations" and the start of "Encounter at Farpoint," and has now come to be used for novels set in that previously uncharted period at the start of the 24th century. Bennett's novel follows Jean-Luc Picard from the loss of the Stargazer through to taking command of the Enterprise-D, with some surprising twists and turns. Bennett loves his hard science and it always informs his tales, without overshadowing the story and characters at their heart. This is an interesting tale, well told.

"Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers - Grand Designs" Various
July also saw the next trade paperback reprint of "Starfleet Corps of Engineers" stories first released as eBooks. This is a great selection, and a good jumping-on point if you've not encountered the Corps before. They're not filled with technobabble, although that is inevitably present, with many of them dealing with personal conflicts rather than engineering problems. There's a fantasy tale, if those are to your taste, and some Douglas Adams-like humor, with no clunkers in the collection.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 10" Edited by Dean Wesley Smith and Paula M. Block
An era came to an end in August, with the publication of the tenth and final selection of "Strange New Worlds" stories. Over the years, these volumes have been a training ground for numerous writers who have gone on to provide short stories, eBooks and full-length novels for the Star Trek range. And while it's a shame to see it go, it ends on a high note, with some excellent tales from across the various television series. Not all of these stories will please everyone, as is inevitable in such an anthology, but you're sure to find at least half a dozen that will resonate.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - Death in Winter" Michael Jan Friedman
The celebration of ST:TNG's 20th anniversary kicked off with a reprint of Friedman's first novel set after the events of "Star Trek Nemesis." While dealing with the politics of the Romulan Empire in disarray after Shinzon's death, it also brings Jean-Luc Picard and Beverley Crusher back together again, as well as dealing with certain loose ends from Friedman's earlier work featuring Picard's Stargazer crew. Although it's enjoyable, it doesn't really ever catch fire.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - Resistance" J.M. Dillard
The first novel in a trilogy of new adventures for the Enterprise-E that appeared over successive months, "Resistance" is a rip-roaring read, introducing new members for Picard's crew, some of whom aren't destined to last that long, and reintroducing the Borg in a scarier way than they've been seen for some time. Reading not so much like a novel as a fast-paced novelization of a movie sequel to "Star Trek: First Contact," this throws up some awkward questions about Picard's command style and simple common sense, some of which are answered in the succeeding books.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q&A" Keith DeCandido
Middle volumes in trilogies tend to get a bad rap — they neither start things nor resolve them. Luckily with these TNG novels, the trilogy seems more a quirk of publishing: they're three standalone novels with some linking themes. DeCandido's novel is the best of the stories by some distance, introducing the new command crew for the Enterprise, and interweaving all of Q's appearances together into a coherent whole. Yes, it's continuity heavy but you don't need to know the intimate details of each episode, since they're recapped as necessary. With a neat link into a seventh season episode, "Q&A" is the must-buy novel of this selection.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Sky's the Limit" Edited by Marco Palmieri
Published alongside "Q&A" was this very enjoyable collection of tales from across the spectrum of Star Trek: The Next Generation, starting before Picard took command of the Enterprise, right the way to the end of "Star Trek Nemesis." There are some excellent character studies, and some interesting combinations working together, and only those few stories that heavily rely on prior knowledge fall a bit flat. A worthy companion to the earlier anthology collections.

"Star Trek Academy: Collision Course" William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Tales of Jim Kirk's days before he took command of the U.S.S. Enterprise have been told before, notably in Diane Carey's "Best Destiny," and of course we're all expecting to learn a lot more in a year's time when the new movie hits our screens. In the meantime we have William Shatner's unique, personal vision of those days. It's unlikely to fit with most people's. The ending stretches credibility beyond breaking point and while there are valiant efforts to tie into continuity, this simply isn't that good. Cover's nice though.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation: Before Dishonor" Peter David
Having praised David's work on "New Frontier" last time around, it's a pity to report that "Before Dishonor" is not just the weakest of the three new TNG novels, but one of the weakest Star Trek novels of recent time. It's got momentum and pace alright, but the characterization of the new Enterprise crew isn't just slightly off-kilter, it's plain wrong. The novel has serious consequences for the rest of the 24th-century books, as a major player appears to die, so unfortunately it's going to be difficult to work round the events herein. It's got loads of crowd-pleasing elements, but this is real style over substance.

"Star Trek: Titan: The Sword of Damocles" Geoffrey Thorne
A powerful entry into the adventures of Will Riker's first captaincy, "The Sword of Damocles" includes a discussion of predestination threaded within its tale of an unknown force causing serious problems for the U.S.S. Titan. Time travel, folding space and self-sacrifice all feature, as it seems that Riker and Troi may be separated forever. Geoffrey Thorne uses Titan's multi-racial crew to great effect, and builds on the sterling work already done with this series.

"Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers - Creative Couplings" Various
The year rounds off in print with a second batch of stories from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Once again, this is an interesting mix of character and plot led tales, with the title story mixing the two brilliantly. There are nice nods to the rich tapestry of the Star Trek universe in both "Where Time Stands Still," which is a sequel to the animated episode "The Time Trap" using the crew from the 23rd Century's S.C.E., and "Small World" which references "The Paradise Syndrome." The tales benefit from not being tied to a certain word count, so none ever outstays its welcome.

"Star Trek: Klingons: Blood Will Tell" Various
Turning our attention now to comics, IDW Publishing has released a trade paperback of their five issue Klingon series which lived up to the promise of its early stories throughout. Reading it as one story, rather than as a series, it has an added power, and the irony of the final panel will be apparent to anyone who enjoys "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." This sets a benchmark for IDW's Trek output.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between" Various
Unfortunately this mini-series doesn't have the depth or power of "Blood Will Tell," with artwork that doesn't really capture the spirit of TNG and stories that feel slightly imposed on the Trek universe, rather than deriving from it. It's not bad, and a quantum leap beyond some of the previous Trek comic book incarnations, but we can hope for more. This retains its mark from the summer.

"Star Trek: Alien Spotlight" Various
These are equally a mixed bag, and their success depends on how much the focus is on the alien race rather than the members of Starfleet they encounter. The best so far is the Andorian issue, which picks up on a lot of the information given in Star Trek: Enterprise and uses it in the 24th Century. The Gorn issue, on the other hand, could easily have been a third of its length: the artwork is great, but the story is slight. With Borg, Orion and Romulan issues yet to come, the mark could well rise.

"Star Trek: Year Four" Various
This is much more like it. Although occasionally descending into urban myth (would Kirk really leer at a new attractive crewmember as he does in the preview story?), these tell Star Trek stories with recognizable art. With Dorothy Fontana on board for the next batch of stories, these can only continue their successful onward voyage. Catch them when they hit the newsstands. [For the record, the Kirk I know and love would leer. Professionally, of course. -Ed.]

"Star Trek: The Next Generation: Slings and Arrows" Various (eBook)
Another ongoing series is the TNG 20th anniversary eBook range, edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido. These chronicle the first year of adventures of the Enterprise-E (between "Star Trek Generations" and "Star Trek: First Contact"). As with the Starfleet Corps of Engineer eBooks, none of the tales are padded to fit a set word count and all are well worth downloading. If you're thinking of waiting for a print edition, it could be a long time before you get to see these stories: last year's TOS anniversary stories still aren't scheduled for a reprint as yet.

What's in store for the spring? We learn more about the Klingons' alliance with Dax in the DS9 episode "Blood Oath" as we join Captain Sulu in the new novel "Forged in Fire"; we visit the Mirror Universe for a further collection of tales, as well as encountering "Myriad Universes" in a collection of "What If?" novels; and we travel back in time on board Terek Nor and learn of the background to DS9 itself ...

Until then, happy holidays and happy reading!