Book picks similar to
Star Trek 1 by James Blish


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Spock's World


Diane Duane - 1988
    On the planet Vulcan, a crisis of unprecedented proportion has caused the convocation of the planet's ruling council—and summoned the U.S.S. Enterprise™ from halfway across the galaxy to bring Vulcan's most famous son home in its hour of need. As Commander Spock, his father, Sarek, and Captain James T. Kirk struggle to preserve Vulcan's future, the planet's innermost secrets are laid before us, from its beginnings millions of years ago to its savage prehistory, from merciless tribal warfare to medieval court intrigue, from the exploration of space to the development of o'thia—the ruling ethic of logic. And Spock—torn between his duty to Starfleet and the unbreakable ties that bind him to Vulcan—must reconcile both his own inner conflict and the external dilemma his planet faces... lest the Federation itself be ripped asunder.

Enterprise: The First Adventure


Vonda N. McIntyre - 1986
    Kirk is the youngest man to be promoted to the rank of captain in Federation history. His crew consists of a first officer who finds him impetuous; a chief engineer who finds him arrogent; a chief medical officer who finds him trifling; and a helmsman who wants a transfer. But the young crew, which would later become the legendary space explorers, quickly puts aside their differences when a monstrous starship appears on their nascent flight path.

Strangers from the Sky


Margaret Wander Bonanno - 1987
    But when an alien spacecraft crash-lands in the South Pacific bearing visitors from another world, the Vulcans, Earth must decide whether to extend the hand of friendship, or the fist of war. In the distant future, horrible dreams torment Admiral James T. Kirk, dreams prompted by his reading of Strangers from the Sky, a book about that historic first contact. He dreams of an alternate reality where he somehow changed the course of history, and destroyed the Federation before it began.

The Lost Years


J.M. Dillard - 1989
    Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from each other and the starship. The newly-promoted Admiral Kirk is placed in charge of a specially-created Starfleet division and attempts to defuse a critical hostage situation; Mr. Spock, who, in the midst of a teaching assignment on Vulcan, finds the one thing he least expected; and Dr. McCoy, whose unerring instinct for trouble lands him smack in the middle of an incident that could trigger an interstellar bloodbath.

Sarek


A.C. Crispin - 1994
    Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson, is dying, and Spock returns to the planet Vulcan where he and Sarek enjoy a rare moment of rapprochement. But just as his wife's illness grows worse, duty calls Sarek away—once again sowing seeds of conflict between father and son. Yet soon, Sarek and Spock must put aside their differences and work together to foil a far-reaching plot to destroy the Federation—a plot that Sarek has seen in the making for nearly his entire career. The epic story will take the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ to the heart of the Klingon Empire, where Captain Kirk's last surviving relative has become a pawn in a battle to divide the Federation... and conquer it. With Sarek's help, the crew of the Starship Enterprise™ learns that all is not as it seems. Before they can prevent the Federation's destruction, they must see the face of their hidden enemy—an enemy more insidious and more dangerous than any they have faced before...

Prime Directive


Judith Reeves-Stevens - 1991
    Its most honored captain is in disgrace, its most celebrated starship in pieces, and the crew of that ship scattered among the thousand worlds of the Federation... Thus begins Prime Directive, an epic tale of the Star Trek universe. Following in the bestselling tradition of Spock's World and The Lost Years, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens have crafted a thrilling tale of mystery and wonder, a novel that takes the Star Trek characters from the depths of despair into an electrifying new adventure that spans the galaxy. Journey with Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the former crew of the Starship Enterprise to Talin—the planet where their careers ended. A world once teeming with life that now lies ruined, its cities turned to ashes, its surface devastated by a radioactive firestorm—because of their actions. There, they must find out how—and why—this tragedy occurred and discover what has become of their captain.

Star Trek: Log One


Alan Dean Foster - 1974
    Published by Ballantine Books in June 1974. Including adaptations for:- Beyond The Farthest Star (Kirk's crew come across an ancient derelict vessel, but something is still living inside it.)- Yesteryear (Spock travels back in time to prevent his own demise during his youth on Vulcan.)- One Of Our Planets is Missing (The Enterprise crew learns that a massive, planet-destroying cloud has entered Federation space.)

Q-Squared


Peter David - 1995
    In the years since, Q has returned again and again to harass Picard and his crew. Sometimes dangerous, sometimes merely obnoxious, Q has always been mysterious and seemingly all-powerful. But this time, when Q appears, he comes to Picard for help. Apparently another member of the Q continuum has tapped into an awesome power source that makes this being more powerful than the combined might of the entire Q continuum. This renegade Q is named Trelane -- also known as the Squire of Gothos, who Captain Kirk and his crew first encountered over one hundred years ago. Q explains that, armed with this incredible power, Trelane has become unspeakably dangerous. Now Picard must get involved in an awesome struggle between super beings. And this time the stakes are not just Picard's ship, or the galaxy, or even the universe -- this time the stakes are all of creation...

Final Frontier


Diane Carey - 1988
    Starfleet has just been founded and the Enterprise has just been built, and is sent on its first mission. The mission takes the Enterprise into the heart of hostile Romulan territory, where cosmopolitical machinations and advanced weapons technology will decide the fate of a hundred innocent worlds.

I, Q


John de Lancie - 1999
    Now de Lancie and Peter David, the bestselling author of such acclaimed novels as Q-in-Law and Q-Squared, have joined forces to send Q on an unforgettable cosmic odyssey, told from the mischievous trickster's own unique point of view. The Maelstrom, a metaphysical whirlpool of apocalyptic proportions, is pulling all of reality into its maw, devouring the totality of time and space while bringing together people and places from throughout the universe. The Q Continuum pronounces that the end of everything has come, but Q refuses to meekly accept the end of all he has known. Defying the judgment of the Continuum, he sets out to derail doomsday—at whatever the cost. Q has been everywhere and done everything, but now he's in for a cosmic thrill ride beyond even his own astonishingly unlimited imagination. Old friends and adversaries wait in unexpected places, transcendent hazards abound, and the multiverse's most unlikely savior encounters wonders and dangers enough to render Q himself speechless. Almost. Can even Q, reluctantly assisted by Jean Luc Picard, prevent the Universe as We Know It from literally going down the drain? I, Q is a wild and witty voyage through the secret soul of creation—as only Q can tell it!

Vulcan's Forge


Josepha Sherman - 1997
    For his part, Captain Spock must make the toughest decision of his Starfleet career.

The Lives of Dax


Marco Palmieri - 1999
    One of the most popular and compelling Star Trek characters ever created, Dax is a wormlike being who is joined body and soul to a succession of humanoid hosts. Each life is different, each body is different, each personality is different, but all of them are Dax. At one time or another Dax has been male, female, a Starfleet officer, a statesman, a scientist, and ambassador, even a serial killer. The symbiont's humanoid hosts have included Curzon, friend of Klingons, and Jadzia, science officer on Deep Space Nine and latterly wife of Worf. The most recent incarnation is Ezri Dax, station counsellor on Deep Space Nine. Designed to appeal to fans of every version of Star Trek, the stories in The Lives of Dax each show a different host's adventure—nine incredible lives stretched out over 357 years of Star Trek history. The stories are rich with different aliens, planets, battles, personal struggles, surprising revelations, and guest stars galore.

Avatar: Book One of Two


S.D. Perry - 2001
     As the Federation prepares to launch a counterstrike against the Dominion, Colonel Kira Nerys searches for a way to prevent another galactic holocaust. But when a newly discovered prophecy propels Jake Sisko on an impossible quest and threatens to plunge all of Bajor into chaos, Kira is forced to choose between being true to her faith...and being true to herself. Meanwhile, as the combined crews of Deep Space 9 and the Starship Enterprise struggle to stop a terrorist plot to destroy the station and the ship, lives change, new friendships are forged, and the shocking truth behind a grisly murder is revealed. THE ASTONISHING RENEWAL OF THE EPIC ADVENTURE.

The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh


Greg Cox - 2001
    Now, as an ancient and forbidden technology tempts mankind once more, Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise™ must probe deep into the secrets of the past, to discover the true origins of the dreaded Eugenics Wars—and of perhaps the greatest foe he has ever faced. 1974 A.D. An international consortium of the world's top scientists have conspired to create the Chrysalis Project, a top-secret experiment in human genetic engineering. The project's goal is nothing less than the creation of a new, artificially improved breed of men and women: smarter, faster, stronger than ordinary human beings, a super-race to take command of the entire planet. Gary Seven, an undercover operative for an advanced alien species, is alarmed by the project's objectives; he knows too well the apocalyptic consequences of genetic manipulation. With his trusted agents, Roberta Lincoln and the mysterious Isis, he will risk life and limb to uncover Chrysalis' insidious designs and neutralize the awesome threat that the Project poses to the future. But he may already be too late. One generation of super-humans has already been conceived. As the years go by, Seven watches with growing concern as the children of Chrysalis—in particular, a brilliant youth named Khan Noonien Singh—grow to adulthood. Can Khan's dark destiny be averted—or is Earth doomed to fight a global battle for supremacy? The Eugenics Wars: Volume One is an engrossing and fast-paced thriller that explores the secret history of the twentieth century—and the rise of the conqueror known as Khan.

Gods of Night


David Mack - 2008
     Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth's first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity. From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains -- Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, TM William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, and Ezri Dax of the U.S.S Aventine -- that some destinies are inescapable.