Star Trek: Discovery: The Enterprise War Book Review
3 min read
Star Trek: Discovery: The Enterprise War
by John Jackson Miller
Book Description:
“A shattered ship, a divided crew – trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!
“Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another — with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.
“Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew — all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test…with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome.”
Book Set-up:
Prologue 2236
Detonation 2256
Infiltration January 2257
Capitulation May 2257
Obligation October 2257
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
The Review/Verdict:
Note: Some spoilers.
This book answers the question – what happened to Captain Pike and the USS Enterprise when they were away from the Federation-Klingon war. The events of this book lead right into Star Trek: Discovery: Season Two.
The year-long exploration of the Pergamum Nebula is anything but peaceful, as the Enterprise has to fight off one enemy raider only to be faced with another, The Boundless. Pike must take steps to survive and deal with the fact that again, something bad has happened to some of his crew, making him again ponder retirement when…if…they get out of their situation.
Those crewmembers have to face their own problem, and they have to decide what they should do now that they are in a situation out of their control. Do they stay true to Federation values or do they compromise in order to survive in their new roles? The reader is shown how select individuals, including Spock and Connolly (seen in Star Trek: Discovery: Brother), deal with and adapt to their circumstances.
The Boundless have their own enemy, the Rengru. The Enterprise and their crewmembers, present from the ship or absent, have been dragged into both sides of the battle, and it’s up to them to find a way to end an ancient war, reunite their people and their ship, and get back home.
There is some resemblance to the situation in A Taste of Armageddon, with people having fought for so long, that the war is normal to them. How does the crew of the Enterprise convince two different races that the time for peace has come?
Miller brings the characters alive and the new characters are quite compelling; from Dr. Galadjian, the chief engineer of the Enterprise, to Baladon, a Lurian raider. Under Miller’s skillful pen, they come alive and enrich the story. Fans of Number One (aka Una) will also be pleased by more insight into what makes her tick. Spock’s journey to temporary madness is also shown and again, this leads into the events of Discovery‘s Second Season.
Then there are The Boundless and the Rengru. The story of their lengthy war and the six races that originally populated their home planet explains their actions against the Enterprise and as often the case, things weren’t as it seemed, to both sides.
The book is an easy read, and a quick read. Give yourself a decent block of time when reading The Enterprise War, because once you start reading, you won’t want to put it down until the end. I had read about twenty pages and then got busy with other stuff. Picking it up to resume reading, I shot through the rest of the book, staying up late, because it was so good. This is a true Star Trek story – filled with compelling characters, mysteries, and fascinating aliens. Discovery fans will especially enjoy the story.
Book Information:
Author: John Jackson Miller
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1982113315
ISBN-10: 1982113316
Pages: 420
Star Trek: Discovery: The Enterprise War is available as a trade paperback for $16.00 ($11.20 on Amazon) or as an eBook for $11.99. The Enterprise War is also available as an audiobook for $19.84 To order, head to the link located here.
About The Author
