By BWilliams / 05:10, 14 October 2006 / Reviews - Books

It's hard to believe that over the past 25-30 years, literally hundreds of STAR TREK novels have been released by Pocket Books. Initially a series of original novels focusing on Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise, furthering the original five-year mission and exploring the events after the first feature film, Pocket Books has expanded its tapestry with numerous original novels; novelizations of TV episodes and films; crossover tales; miniseries; young adult novels; original series such as IKS GORKON, TITAN, NEW FRONTIER, and VANGUARD; and electronic novel releases including the STARFLEET CORPS OF ENGINEERS. Many of the novels have repeatedly hit many bestseller lists and elevated its writers into superstar status.

Now Pocket Books has gone back into its archives and reissued four of its most popular and well-received tales considered commercial and critical classics in the STAR TREK expanded universe. The novels reissued are STRANGERS FROM THE SKY by Margaret Wander Bonanno, VULCAN'S GLORY by TOS' story editor D.C. Fontana, FEDERATION by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and THE ENTROPY EFFECT by Vonda N. McIntyre.

STRANGERS FROM THE SKY, originally issued in 1987, tells a tale within a tale amid the framework of a fictional novel chronicling mankind's first contact with Vulcans in the mid-21st century. As Bonanno points out, while some of the details seemingly conflict with STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, released nine years afterwards, the novel doesn't so much conflict with filmed canon as it complements the events. During the mid-21st century, an Earth vessel comes across a Vulcan starship, and buried deep within that contact, Admiral James T. Kirk begins having visions of his involvement not only in the 21st century but also in the 23rd century as well. Further complicating matters is the involvement of his former first officer Gary Mitchell and ship's psychologist Elizabeth Dehner (from "Where No Man Has Gone Before") in the contact. Now the question comes: how can Kirk unravel this Gordian knot in time and keep events flowing? Bonanno masters her work and her blend of strong characterization and tight plotting in this classic.

VULCAN'S GLORY, first issued in 1989, takes us back in time to the mid-23rd century, when a young Spock signs aboard for his first mission on the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. As Spock battles a number of internal conflicts between his heart and his duty to Starfleet, Pike leads a team to uncover a sacred Vulcan artifacts, leading to even more unnerving secrets that will change Spock's life and define who he becomes in later years. Even after all these years, Fontana, in her first original TREK novel, still commands a complete knowledge of and relationship with her characters as she did during the Original Series' production, exploring new character depths and personalities not seen in the classic 79. Along the way, Fontana also gives us a glimpse of a young Montgomery Scott, also on his first Enterprise mission as well.

FEDERATION, originally issued in 1994, is a grand epic that spans the centuries of the STAR TREK universe. As with STRANGERS, it gives us an alternate look at the backstory of Zefram Cochrane that seemingly conflicts with FIRST CONTACT but also complements the film as well. Across the centuries, a madman out for vengeance seeks to claim Cochrane aboard two generations of Enterprises, under both Kirk's and Picard's commands. Of course, at the time of its original publication, GENERATIONS had yet to be released, and we had yet to know of Kirk's final fate or of his involvement with Picard, but FEDERATION offers us glimpses into the origins of the STAR TREK universe as we know it. The Reeves-Stevenses know their history well.

Finally, THE ENTROPY EFFECT was originally issued in 1981 as the first original novel from Pocket Books. In McIntyre's classic, Spock must go through time to prevent the murder of Captain Kirk and the destruction of the universe as we know it. THE ENTROPY EFFECT also gave us our first definitive answer to one of the more nagging questions in the TREK universe, though it would be another ten years before it was officially confirmed in THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY that Sulu's first name is Hikaru.

Pocket Books has done a very good thing by reissuing four of its most critically and commercially successful entries in the STAR TREK novel line. I found myself devouring and enjoying these tales when they were first issued, especially STRANGERS and FEDERATION - reissued, I still do. If you've not experienced them at all, give them a read!

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