Culled from a second nationwide contest/author search, they represent some of the finest Star Trek writing available today.

    After scanning countless submissions for signs of style and originality, the judges are proud to report that the universe of amazing Star Trek writers just keeps expanding. Strange New Worlds IV features more than a dozen never-before-published stories spanning the twenty-third and twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of James T. Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These memorable new tales explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives. Join Strange New Worlds in its thrilling quest to uncover the most compelling Star Trek Þction this side of the Galactic Barrier!

    The final selections gathered here were chosen from an overwhelming number of entries by virtue of their originality and style. With wit, compassion, and an affection for all things Star Trek, these brand-new authors take us where Star Trek has never gone before. Their tales rocket across the length and breadth of Federation time and space, from when Captain Kirk explored the galaxy on the first Starship Enterprise™, through Captain Picard's U.S.S. Enterprise™ 1701-D and Captain Sisko's Deep Space Nine™, to Captain Janeway's Starship Voyager™, with many more fascinating stops along the way. Find out what happens in the Star Trek universe when fans -- like you -- take the helm!

    Captain Ransom atones for his sins. T'Pol pursues a composer, after she is captivated by the human's music. Strands of DNA are woven together from four Starfleet captains, creating one man with one mission. An entity fights for its right to live, despite the fact that it is not alive. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, all of these stories are embraced by the vision of Star Trek®. When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek, he also tapped a wellspring of human imagination. Viewers were transformed into fans, who embraced the show and turned the definition of "fan" on its ear. However, when what was on the screen was simply not enough, fans started writing their own stories, which they then shared among friends and family. Ten years ago, Pocket Books offered Star Trek fans a unique opportunity to become a part of the Star Trek mythos. A contest was created in which the best stories submitted by nonprofessional writers would be published. And over the course of a decade, hundreds of pounds of submissions poured in. Many of the writers who submitted to Strange New Worlds went on to become professional writers. This time there are nineteen writers: Rigel Ailur, David DeLee, M.C. DeMarco, Rick Dickson, Louis E. Doggett, Aimee Ford Foster, Edgar Governo, Robyn Sullivent Gries, Jim Johnson, Gerri Leen, Muri McCage, Brian Seidman, Randy Tatano, Paul C. Tseng, Rob Vagle, Laura Ware, Carolyn Winifred, Jerry M. Wolfe, and Jeremy Yoder. We welcome them to the book that is by the fans, for the fans.

    Here you can read a fresh and original take on Captain Benjamin Sisko's role on Deep Space Nine, Captain Kathryn Janeway's homeward journey with the crew of the Starship Voyager, Captain Archer's encounters with the Xindi -- and many more ports of call along the way.Strange New Worlds 9 includes stories from all five Star Trek incarnations:Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Voyagerand Star Trek: EnterpriseThis year’s contributors include John Coffren, David DeLee, Steven Costa, Jeremy Yoder, Paul C. Tseng, Jim Johnson, Scott Pearson, Jeff D. Jaques, Emily P. Bloch, Gerri Leen, Mike McDevitt, Ryan M. Williams, Susan S. McCrackin, Russ Crossley, Catherine E. Pike, Allison Cain, A. Rhea King, Ben Guilfoy, Randy Tatano, Kenneth E. Carper, Kevin Lauderdale, Marc Carson, R. S. Belcher.

    Each of these unforgettable stories explores the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives. This year's contributors include Kevin Lauderdale, Kevin Killiany, Christian Grainger, Paul J. Kaplan, Muri McCage, Pat Detmer, Gerri Leen, Julie Hyzy, Kelly Cairo, John Coffren, Scott Pearson, Jeff D. Jacques, Jim Johnson, Anne E. Clements, Russ Crossley, Susan S. McCrackin, Catherine E. Pike, G. Wood, Annie Reed, Louisa M. Swann, Brett Hudgins, Amy Sisson, and Frederick Kim.

     Now, for the first time, see how the Dominion War affected the entirety of the Star Trek universe. From the heart of the Federation to the bridge of the Starship Enterprise™. From the front lines of Klingon™ space to the darkest recesses of the Romulan Empire. From the heroic members of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to the former crew of the U.S.S. Stargazer. From the edge of the New Frontier to the corridors of station Deep Space 9™. Some of the finest Star Trek novelists have been gathered to provide a dozen new tales from this seminal period in galactic history. Heroes from three generations -- Sisko, Picard, Spock, Kira, Calhoun, Klag, McCoy, Gold, and so many more -- brought together in these... Tales Of The Dominion War Greg Cox • Peter David • Keith R.A. DeCandido • Michael Jan Friedman • Dave Galanter • Robert Greenberger Heather Jarman & Jeffrey Lang • David Mack • Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels • Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore • Howard Weinstein

    GREED. ENVY. WRATH. LUST. GLUTTONY. SLOTH.The Seven Deadly Sins delineate the path to a person’s downfall, the surest way to achieve eternal damnation. But there is a way out, a way to reclaim salvation: blame it on the demons—taunting you, daring you to embrace these sins—and you shall be free. The painful truth is that these impulses live inside all of us, inside all sentient beings. But alas, one person’s sin may be another being’s virtue.The pride of the Romulan Empire is laid bare in "The First Peer," by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore.A Ferengi is measured by his acquisition of profit. "Reservoir Ferengi," by David A. McIntee, depicts the greed that drives that need.The Cardassians live in a resource-poor system, surrounded by neighbors who have much more. The envy at the heart of Cardassian drive is "The Slow Knife,"by James Swallow.The Klingons have tried since the time of Kahless to harness their wrath with an honor code, but they haven’t done so, as evidenced in "The Unhappy Ones,"by Keith R.A. DeCandido.Humans’ darkest impulses run free in the Mirror Universe. "Freedom Angst," by Britta Burdett Dennison, illustrates the lust that drives many there.The Borg’s desire to add to their perfection is gluttonous and deadly in "Revenant," by Marc D. Giller.To be a Pakled is to live to up to the ideal of sloth in "Work Is Hard," by Greg Cox.

    Stories by a variety of authors -- some old favourites, some new -- set during the events of the television series give the authentic feel of a newly discovered 'missing season' of Star Trek: The Next Generation.Contributors include Christopher L. Bennett, Greg Cox, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Bob Ingersoll & Thomas F. Zahler, David A. McIntee, Scott Pearson, Michael Schuster & Steve Mollmann, Susan Shwartz, Amy Sisson, James Swallow, Geoff Trowbridge, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, Richard C. White.

    Our choices determine which outcome will follow, and therefore all possibilities that could happen do happen across countless alternate realities. In these divergent realms, known history is bent, like white light through a prism -- broken into a boundless spectrum of what-might-have-beens. But in those myriad universes, what might have been...is what actually happened.A LESS PERFECT UNION: More than a hundred yeas after the Terra Prime movement achieved its dream of an isolated Earth, humanity is once again at a fork in the river of history...and the path it follows may ultimately be determined by the voice of a single individual: the sole surviving crewmember of the first Starship Enterprise.PLACES OF EXILE: Midway through Voyager's journey across the galaxy, Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay must choose whether to brave a deadly war zone or abandon their quest for home. But an attack by Species 8472 cripples the ship, and the stranded crew must make new choices that will reshape their destinies...and that of the Delta Quadrant itself.SEEDS OF DISSENT: Khan victorious! Almost four centuries after conquering their world, genetically enhanced humans dominate a ruthless interstellar empire. But the warship Defiance, under its augmented commander, Princeps Julian Bashir, makes a discovery that could shake the pillars of his proud civilization: an ancient sleeper ship from Earth named the Botany Bay.

    Captain Sisko finds himself in Harlem in the 1950s, where he is Benny Russell, a science fiction writer, who copes with racism by writing of DS-9 and its Black captain.

    After the cataclysmic death of the Genesis Planet, Starfleet wisely decided to destroy all data and records on Project Genesis, hoping to bury its deadly secret forever. Now, nearly a century later, all that remains of Genesis is the knowledge stored in the mind of an elderly, almost forgotten scientist named Dr Carol Marcus. But Dr Marcus has gone missing, and a mysterious wave of energy is sweeping across the Alpha Quadrant at terrfying speed, wiping out the populations of entire planets, rearranging matter on a molecular level to create bizarre new landscapes and lifeforms. The USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is the first Starfleet vessel to discover the threat, but they are not the only ones in danger. Trillions of souls and hundreds of inhabited planets lie in the path of the mutagenic wave, which is expanding outwards as it traverses the cosmos, and Earth itself faces total obliteration!

    Featuring the iconic heroes of the Star Trek universe -- the legendary characters who were the inspiration for all those who followed -- this treasure trove of untold tales recreates all the sense of adventure that marked the original Star Trek when it first burst on to our television screens in 1966. Each story takes as its inspiration an element of 'unfinished business' from the original series so that they read like 'lost episodes' of the television show, exploring aspects of the Star Trek crew and their adventures which have intrigued Trekkers ever since the original series ended. The result is a magnificent tribute to the series that changed the face of television history and will have millions of fans worldwide feeling as though they have just discovered a whole 'missing' season of their favourite show.

    He also found a new and troubling destiny as the long-awaited Emissary to the mysterious wormhole entities known as the Prophets.Now, after years of triumph and tragedy, and a cataclysmic war that rocked the entire Alpha Quadrant, Captain Sisko and his valiant crew face their final challenge. No one is safe, nothing is certain, and not even the Prophets can predict the ultimate fate of "Deep Space Nine!"

    But her treacherous alliance is not the only danger the Intendant faces. Both Deanna Troi, the power-hungry consort of Regent Worf, and B'Elanna Torres, the half-human Intendant of the Sol System, are threatened by Kira's unquenchable ambition, and would be glad to see her deposed -- or worse. As four powerful women scheme for control of the Alliance, who will survive? And who will claim the ultimate prize?