Deep Space Spines – Page 7 – A chronicle of the non-canonical since 2017.

#256: Far Beyond the Stars (DS9 episode)

On 15 January 2024

In today’s episode, Captain Sisko learns that too much stress can actually make you travel through time. But there’s no Federation to save his 1950s counterpart from the harsh realities of systemic racism. Are the Prophets leaving Sisko Easter eggs in their visions? How many modern IPs did Benny Russell secretly come up with? And is the world ready for the kinds of dreams he writes about? All this and more in Far Beyond the Stars, the book that actually earns the reputation Star Trek thinks it has.

#255: Deceptions (TNG YA #14)

By jess

On 5 January 2024

In TNG, YA

In today’s episode, when Data’s quadmates celebrate his Omicron Theta-versary, the idea that lying can be used for good blue-screens his ethics programming. But he’ll have to learn the nuance quickly if he hopes to foil some scientists’ psychic invasion plans. Who does an android read for fun? Which terrible unconventional name spellings will survive into the future? And how did the YA line fare overall? All this and more in Deceptions, the book brought to you by the Acme Corporation!

#254: Martyr (NF #5)

By jess

On 30 December 2023

In NF

In today’s episode, when Captain Calhoun fits the profile of an ancient prophecy, he decides to lean into his celebrity status a bit. But when he disappears under mysterious circumstances, he leaves behind the horniest crew in the Beta Quadrant. Do Starfleet officers underrate yelling as a means of getting things done? Are Vulcans technically childfree? And what happens if you shut down a tricorder while it’s updating? All this and more in Martyr, the book that has some official pronoun updates for us.

#253: Trapped in Time (DS9 YA #12)

By jess

On 1 December 2023

In DS9, YA

In today’s episode, when a temporal physicist invents a stable portal to the past, it’s fair to say he did Nazi a twist coming. Now Jake, Nog, and Chief O’Brien must stop the time tamperer before he can put Reich what (he thinks) once went wrong. Is O’Brien exempt from suffering in kids’ books? Should this changeling be more melty? And is it really necessary to look at your dump before you flush it? All this and more in Trapped in Time, the book with a bold what-could-have-been in the casting department!

#252: Vengeance (DS9 #22)

By jess

On 22 November 2023

In DS9

In today’s episode, if you don’t check the veracity of scary new rumors, you’ll look really bad later if they turn out to be true. But no matter how you slice it, while you’re away, the Klingons will play, and you’d better hope the folks you left home are up to the job. Does anyone in 2023 find the Garak/Bashir ship “puzzling”? What does the reading list to just be able to understand humans look like? And is this the fall of the house of Quark? All this and more in Vengeance, the book with the cover appearance so egregious it made me coin the word readbait.