Book picks similar to
Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A. Martin
star-trek
science-fiction
sci-fi
fiction
Ex Machina
Christopher L. Bennett - 2004
In the aftermath of the astonishing events of "Star Trek(R) The Motion Picture, " the captain and officers of the "U.S.S. Enterprise" remain haunted by their encounter with the vast artificial intelligence of V'Ger...and by the sacrifice and ascension of their friend and shipmate, Willard Decker. As James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy attempt to cope with the personal fallout of that ordeal, a chapter from their mutual past is reopened, raising troubling new questions about the relationship among God, Man, and AI. On the recently settled world of Daran IV, the former refugees of the Fabrini worldship Yonada are being divided by conflicting ideologies, as those clinging to their theocratic past vie with visionaries of a future governed by reason alone. Now, echoes of the V'Ger encounter reverberate among the "Enterprise" officers who years ago overthrew the Oracle, the machine-god that controlled Yonada. Confronting the consequences of those actions, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy also face choices that will decide the fate of a civilization, and which may change them forever.
Glass Empires
Mike Sussman - 2007
There are moments glimpsed only in shadow, where darkness rules and evil incarnate thrives. You hope against hope that in your lifetime, evil is relegated to the shadows. But what if it wasn't? What if you lived in a universe where your life was measured only by what you could do for the Empire? What would you do to survive? Would you sell your soul to free yourself? If you were offered the chance to rule, would you seize it? If you could free your universe from the darkness but only at the cost of your life, would you pay that price?
Age of the Empress
(Star Trek: Enterprise) Set in 2155. The story follows on directly from the end of In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II. She seized power in a heartbeat, daring to place herself against all the overlords of the Empire. Empress Hoshi Sato knows the future that could be; now all she has to do is make sure it never happens. For her to rule, she must hold sway not only over the starship from the future but also over her warlords, the resistance, and her Andorian husband. As quickly and brutally as Hoshi seized power, imperial rule is taken from her. Her only chance to rule again is to ally herself with a lifelong foe, and an alien.
The Sorrows Of Empire
(Star Trek: The Original Series) Set in 2267-2295 One man can change the future, but does he dare? Spock, intrigued by the vision of another universe's Federation, does what no Vulcan, no emperor, has ever done: seize power in one blinding stroke of mass murder. And at the same instant he gains imperial power, Spock sows the seeds for the Empire's downfall. Is this a form of Vulcan madness, or is it the coolly logical plan of a man who knows the price his universe must pay for its freedom?
Sdlrow Htob Fo Tsrow Eht (The Worst of Both Worlds)
(Star Trek: The Next Generation) Set in September, 2371 Humanity is a pitiful collection of enslaved, indentured, and abused peoples. No one dares to question the order, except at peril of their lives. One man survives by blinding himself to the misery around him. However, Jean-Luc Picard resists, just once. And in that one instant he unlocks a horror beyond the tyranny of the Alliance. Can a man so beaten down by a lifetime of oppression stop the destruction?
Vulcan's Heart
Josepha Sherman - 1999
Now a diplomat for the United Federation of Planets, Spock agrees to a bonding with Saavik, his former protege and an accomplished Starfleet officer in her own right. More than a betrothal but less than a wedding, the sacred Vulcan rite is attended by both Spock's father, Sarek, and a nervous young Starfleet officer named Jean-Luc Picard. Plans for the consummation of the pair's union are thrown off course when Spock receives a top-secret communication that lures him into the heart of the Romulan empire. Enmeshed in the treacherous political intrigues of the Romulan capital, undone by a fire that grows ever hotter within his blood, Spock must use all his logic and experience to survive a crisis that will ultimately determine the fate of empires!
The Empty Chair
Diane Duane - 2006
To the Federation, they are the Romulans. By any name they are adversaries as formidable as they are inscrutable. Self-exiled from Vulcan in ages past, they retain an ancient martial philosophy and a code of conduct that has sustained them through centuries of hardship, warfare, and thwarted ambition.Now their empire is gearing for war once again. Armed with the revolutionary Sunseed technology, which can destabilize entire stars, a Romulan vessel is warping toward the heart of the Federation. Its target: Earth's sun.But this offensive comes at a perilous time, as a growing number of Romulan worlds are joining a revolution -- one led by the renegade Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu of the warbird "Bloodwing," with the aid of Captain James T. Kirk of the "Starship Enterprise(TM)" and the Hamalki physicist K's't'lk, the Federation's foremost authority on Sunseed technology. As the threat to Earth looms ever larger, "Bloodwing" and "Enterprise" lead an armada toward the Romulan homeworld for a final reckoning that will decide the future of the Rihannsu people.Cover Artist: Tom Hallman
Republic
Michael Jan Friedman - 1998
Stardate 1312.4. -- A young Captain Kirk, early in his legendary career, faces the crisis of his life when he must kill his best friend in order to save the Enterprise. Later, alone in his quarters, be cannot help recalling how he first met Gary Mitchell: At Starfleet Academy, Gary is reckless and fun-loving while Kirk is driven, ambitious, but awkward around other people -- especially women. Their friendship begins with a fistfight. Then their routine training mission on the U.S.S. Republic is diverted to a planet where centuries of bloody interplanetary conflict are about to end in a ceremony of reconciliation. Assigned to help with security on the planet's surface, Kirk and Gary quickly find themselves in the middle of a life-and-death struggle against terrorists determined to disrupt the ceremony. With the future of two planets at stake, Kirk and Gary must find a way to work together before a mission of life and peace becomes one of death and despair.
No Time Like the Past
Greg Cox - 2014
A diplomatic mission to the planet Yusub erupts in violence when ruthless Orion raiders attempt to disrupt the crucial negotiations by force. Caught in the midst of a tense and dangerous situation, Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise finds an unexpected ally in the form of an enigmatic stranger who calls herself “Annika Seven.” STARDATE 53786.1. Seven of Nine is taking part in an archaeological expedition on an obscure planetoid in the Delta Quadrant when a disastrous turn of events puts Voyager’s away team in jeopardy—and transports Seven across time and space to Yusub, where she comes face-to-face with one of Starfleet’s greatest legends. STARDATE 6122.5. Kirk knows better than most the danger that even a single castaway from the future can pose to the time line, so he and Seven embark on a hazardous quest to return her to her own era. But there are others who crave the knowledge Seven possesses, and they will stop at nothing to obtain it—even if this means seizing control of the Enterprise!
Constellations
Marco PalmieriKevin Lauderdale - 2006
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.
Elusive Salvation (Star Trek: The Original Series)
Dayton Ward - 2016
Surviving the harsh conditions will pose a challenge, but over time the aliens will migrate to more populated areas, with decades passing as they work to conceal their presence from their former oppressors, who continue to hunt them at any cost. San Francisco, 2283: When a mysterious craft is detected entering the solar system, Admiral James Kirk is dispatched by Starfleet to confront the vessel. He meets with an emissary from the Iramahl, a previously unknown alien race who have come in search of their brothers and sisters thought to have gone missing in this area of space centuries earlier. Having recently thrown off the last chains of subjugation by another species, the Ptaen, they now believe their lost people hold the key to saving their entire race from eventual extinction. New York, 1970: Roberta Lincoln, young protégé of the mysterious agent Gary Seven, is shocked when she receives the oddest request for help—from the future… ™, ®, & © 2016 CBS Studios, Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Badlands, Book One of Two
Susan Wright - 1999
Many starships have faced destruction there, including at least two incarnations of the Starship Enterprise...James T. Kirk braves the perils of the Badlands to confront a Romulan Bird-of-Prey that has entered Federation space in pursuit of a fleeing smuggler. But trespassing Romulans may be the least of Kirk's problems when the mysterious forces at work in the Badlands threaten both his ship and his crew!A generation later, Jean-Luc Picard faces the same phantom menace when he commands his Enterprise into the Badlands on a mission vital to Federation-Cardassian relations. With Will Riker's life on the line, and the entire ship in jeopardy, it's up to Lieutenant Commander Data to determine the true nature of the Badlands' hidden danger!
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.
First Strike
Diane Carey - 1996
Now they want them back....Captain Kirk is stunned when the Federation receives an urgent plea for help -- from the Klingon Empire. A mysterious starship has invaded Klingon space and resisted all their efforts to destroy it. Establishing contact with the stranger's ship, Kirk discovers that it is only the vanguard of a vast alien fleet obsessed with conquering the Klingons, the Federation, the Romulans, and all who dwell in the space that was once their own.The Invasion has begun....
The Edge of the Sword
Kevin Ryan - 2002
Jon Anderson is the newest security officer aboard the U.S.S Enterprise. He joins the crew at a time of mounting tension between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Previous battles have been inconclusive, but Starfleet Command fears that the Klingons are gearing up for a major offensive. The Enterprise would be on the front lines of an all-out interstellar war.But Lieutenant Anderson has a secret: he is actually a Klingon infiltrator assigned to sabotage Starfleet from within. His first mission: kill Capt. James T. Kirk.
Inception
S.D. Perry - 2010
One young biologist, Carol Marcus, has a project that she believes can reshape planets. A young committed scientist, she dares to dream of a Federation where there is never any hunger and every world is a paradise. Her dream is shared by James Kirk, a young Starfleet officer and her lover. One of Carol's more enthusiastic team members is botanist Leila Kalomi. Leila finds Carol's passion contagious, and sparks the interest of the Enterprise's science officer, Spock, who convinces her to join Project: Inception.
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...
Day of the Vipers
James Swallow - 2008
Now that fifty-year tale of warring ideologies, terrorism, greed, secret intelligence, moral compromises, and embattled faiths is at last given its due in the three-book saga of Star Trek's Lost Era... A seemingly benign visitation to the bountiful world of Bajor from the resource-poor Cardassian Union is viewed with cautious optimism by some, trepidation by others, and a calculating gleam by unscrupulous opportunists. What begins as a gesture of compassion soon becomes something very different. Seen through the eyes of participants on both sides -- including those of a young officer named Skrain Dukat -- the personal, political, and religious tensions between the Bajorans and the Cardassians quickly spiral out of control, irrevocably shaping the futures of both worlds in an emotionally charged and unforgettable tale of treachery, tragedy, and hope.