[Sorry this one’s late. Been under the weather the past couple days. —Jess]
This week, the Romulans’ new warbird is harder, better, faster, and stronger, and though its new commander is young, he’s no daft punk, bagging no less a quarry than the mighty Enterprise. Now Picard must scramble to answer questions for a quiz he didn’t know was scheduled on a subject he didn’t know existed. Is Riker a Ninja Turtles fan? Was this book originally about Klingons? When will these books stop having exposition for people who have never heard of Star Trek? All this and more in The Romulan Prize, the book that puts the crew, as you humans say, in quite a pickle.
This week, the discovery of a mythical artifact rocks the galaxy, but the seemingly innocuous stone has a history more akin to that of a blood diamond. When the Enterprise takes the gem aboard, Picard insists he can quit any time he wants, but the crew begins to get worried when he starts to lose weight, turn pale, and cal the artifact “my precious”. Why does Worf always have to be so Worf? Who’s riding dinosaurs on the holodeck? Will the sonic appliance wars ever end? All this and more in The Devil’s Heart, the book that’s disturbingly warm to the touch.
This week, the Enterprise gets cornered into pulling Uber duty for a haughty councilman, and Kirk couldn’t be less interested in getting a 5-star review. But hospitality becomes the least of Kirk’s worries when another guest reveals the ulterior motive behind his newest creation. Now the crew must travel from universe to universe, putting right what immediately goes wrong and hoping each time that their next leap will be the leap home. Who’s the lady with the head gear? Will Spock ever actually read The Wizard of Oz? And do we in fact live in a society? All this and more in The Starship Trap, the book where I admit I’m in it for the steak.
This week, the Enterprise gets totaled, and worst of all, they can’t even sell it for scrap. But Picard is determined to get it back in one piece, and it’ll take more than some hairy mud to stop him. Meanwhile, Data helps ease a socially awkward girl into the complexities of contact with the most frightening creature of all: men. What’s the benefit of being voluntarily overweight in the future? What does Riker really get out of playing the trombone? And is there any Earth sport Worf won’t treat like gladiatorial combat? All this and more in Grounded, the book that demonstrates the real reason for technobabble.
This week, Benjamin Sisko boards the galaxy’s most remote truck stop with his arms full of baggage, and I don’t mean Samsonite. He’s far from the station’s only disgruntled employee, however, and every one of them will have to turn those frowns upside-down if they hope to clean up after the previous Cardassian tenants. Sisko tells Picard to take this job and shove it, but the sudden appearance of a seemingly stable wormhole may render the question of a career in academia academic. Is Sisko the messiah the Bajorans have been searching for? Can a hew-mon and a Ferengi be friends? And how often do Vulcan names get recycled? All this and more in Emissary, the book that was made possible by a grant from the Jake Sisko Career Fund and by Viewers Like You.